Global Ledger identified one of the wallets linked to the case of Jorge Figueira, a Venezuelan national charged by U.S. prosecutors in Virginia with an alleged ~$1B money-laundering scheme. It involved crypto wallets, shell companies, and liquidity providers used to exchange crypto for dollars.
The exposure report shows that TQVA…arj5 received ~528.8M USDT from centralized exchanges, including platforms ranked in the top 10 by trading volume on CoinMarketCap. The wallet sent ~447.1M USDT to CEXs, potentially, for further cash-out.
High-risk entities account for a lower exposure — nearly 240M USDT in incoming and about 40.8M USDT in outgoing transactions. The entities that contributed to TQVA…arj5 exposure include Huione, Garantex, Grinex, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and others. Huione Group was the largest contributor, accounting for approximately ~22.44M USDT in incoming and outgoing exposure.
Venezuelan national Jorge Figueira was charged on January 9, 2026 in connection with an alleged large-scale money-laundering operation. The FBI estimates that approximately $1 billion in cryptocurrency flowed through wallets linked to the scheme, reaching individuals and businesses across multiple countries, including several high-risk jurisdictions, such as Colombia, China, Panamá, and Mexico. If convicted, Figueira could face a prison sentence of up to 20 years.
Recent reporting shows that illicit financial networks linked to Venezuela are connected to broader criminal activity, including narcotics trafficking and, in some cases, militant financing. These networks rely on complex money-laundering structures to move and convert funds across borders.
Cases like this are part of a broader pattern in how illicit funds are laundered through crypto. Large volumes often move quickly across exchanges, mixers, and bridges to obfuscate trails and make detection harder. Similar techniques are also used in sanctions evasion, where crypto infrastructure helps obscure fund origins and bypass restrictions.
To explore these patterns in more detail, download our free report on Russia’s sanctions evasion and how crypto is used to move and disguise illicit funds at scale.