I remember reading a fascinating article on the nature of the companies that deal with ransomware. I think it was this one.
The TLDR is that these middleman companies allow ransomware victims to both pay the fine and save face, by acting as if they didn't pay the fine. The perpetrators prefer to deal with the middlemen as they know how to pay in crypto, and are predictable - the middleman and the hackers are closer to partners than adversaries.
Somehow you missed to mention the part where the middlemen put up a slow claiming to do it by computer forensics and cryptoanalysis, supplying deniability to those who do want to pay and fooling those who don't.
The TLDR is that these middleman companies allow ransomware victims to both pay the fine and save face, by acting as if they didn't pay the fine. The perpetrators prefer to deal with the middlemen as they know how to pay in crypto, and are predictable - the middleman and the hackers are closer to partners than adversaries.
https://features.propublica.org/ransomware/ransomware-attack...