Japanese police have arrested 18 individuals suspected of credit card fraud and money laundering involving over $666,000 in cryptocurrency, local media reports.

According to the investigation, the criminal group began in June 2021 by listing fake goods on the Merkari marketplace and receiving payments via stolen credit cards. The total number of fraudulent transactions amounted to around 900.

The leader of the group is 26-year-old Yuta Kobayashi, who, according to investigators, organized fraudulent operations totaling $18,000 between June and July 2021. He recruited all participants through “illegal side jobs” on social media, and communication was carried out via encrypted messaging services.

To launder the stolen funds, the group used the anonymous cryptocurrency Monero (XMR). Japanese police were able to identify the criminals for the first time by analyzing Monero transactions.

Previously, the method of tracking XMR transactions was demonstrated in a video by Chainalysis, which relies on the use of numerous “malicious” nodes to capture IP addresses and transaction timestamps.

It is worth noting that in January, Finland also reported the successful tracking of Monero in connection with the case of hacker Julius Kivimäki.