Key Takeaways:
Indian authorities arrested Garantex founder Aleksej Bešciokov on U.S. money laundering charges.
Garantex allegedly facilitated illicit transactions linked to criminal activities.
Bešciokov faces extradition to the U.S. and severe penalties.
Indian authorities have arrested Aleksej Bešciokov, a Lithuanian national accused of operating the cryptocurrency exchange Garantex. The arrest occurred in Kerala, where Bešciokov was vacationing with his family.
In coordination with local law enforcement, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) detained him as he was preparing to leave the country.
India Detains Garantex Operator Aleksej Bešciokov on U.S. Charges
The arrest was made in response to charges filed in the United States, including conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business, and conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
According to an indictment filed on February 27 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Bešciokov and his co-defendant, Aleksandr Mira Serda, allegedly facilitated illicit transactions through Garantex.
Prosecutors claim the exchange has been used for activities linked to ransomware, hacking, drug trafficking, and sanctions violations since 2019.
Garantex has been under heightened scrutiny in recent weeks. On March 6, the platform suspended all services, including withdrawals, after Tether froze $27 million in USDT connected to its operations.
U.S. authorities also seized three domain names associated with the exchange as part of their legal action.
According to prosecutors, Bešciokov and Mira Serda took deliberate measures to obscure criminal transactions processed through the platform.
In one case, when Russian law enforcement requested information on an account linked to Mira Serda, Garantex allegedly provided misleading and incomplete data to conceal its ownership.
Garantex was sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control in April 2022 for failing to comply with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations.
The European Union imposed additional sanctions on the platform in February as part of its measures against Russia.
Court documents allege that Garantex regularly moved its cryptocurrency wallets to avoid detection, making it difficult for U.S.-based exchanges to block illicit transactions.
Bešciokov is expected to be extradited to the U.S. under India’s Extradition Act of 1962. It remains unclear whether he will contest the extradition, as similar legal proceedings in the past have faced delays.
Meanwhile, Mira Serda, a Russian national who co-founded Garantex and served as its chief commercial officer, remains large.
If convicted, Bešciokov and Mira Serda face up to 20 years in prison for money laundering conspiracy. Bešciokov could receive an additional 20 years for violating sanctions and five years for operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business.
U.S. Authorities Target Crypto Market Manipulation With Gotbit Indictments
The crackdown on illicit crypto activities continues as U.S. authorities ramp up efforts to bring key figures to justice.
Following the high-profile cases of Terraform Labs’ Do Kwon and FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried, Aleksei Andriunin, the founder of crypto hedge fund Gotbit, has been extradited from Portugal to the U.S.
Andriunin was arrested on October 8 and extradited on October 25. He faces charges of market manipulation and wire fraud conspiracy.
He appeared in Boston federal court and was ordered to remain in custody. A federal grand jury issued his indictment on October 31, which also names Gotbit directors Fedor Kedrov and Qawi Jalili.
The case stems from an FBI sting operation involving a fake token, NexFundAI (NEXF), designed to expose market manipulation schemes.
Prosecutors allege that Gotbit used software to execute wash trades, inflating trading volumes to secure exchange token listings.
Reports indicate the firm generated “tens of millions of dollars” in illicit profits, with Andriunin allegedly funneling funds into his Binance account.
If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 25 years in prison for wire fraud and another five years for market manipulation.
For now, these arrests are in the process of finding the accused guilty. They would face adequate consequences if they were found guilty of their crimes.
All these crimes add to regulators’ growing concerns regarding the anonymity of cryptocurrencies, which have been a haven for criminals to obscure their illicit funds.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Garantex processed over $96 billion in transactions, facilitating money laundering for ransomware groups, darknet markets, and sanctioned entities.
Cryptocurrency’s pseudonymity, cross-border operations, and frequent wallet changes make tracking and prosecuting illicit activities highly complex.
Sanctions restrict access to financial systems, but platforms often evade them by rebranding or altering operational structures.
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