Indian law enforcement authorities have announced the arrest of Aleksej Besciokov, a Lithuanian citizen and co-founder of the Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex, who has been sanctioned by both the European Union and the United States. The arrest was carried out under India’s extradition laws.
Earlier, multiple U.S. law enforcement agencies, in collaboration with Europol and other international bodies, seized Garantex’s domain, alleging that the exchange had facilitated money laundering for several ransomware syndicates. These groups encrypt corporate data and demand ransom payments, typically in Bitcoin, which is then funneled through Garantex to be exchanged for other cryptocurrencies or fiat currency.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice formally accused Aleksej Besciokov of personally approving transactions on Garantex for various ransomware operators, including North Korean hacker groups. Subsequently, he was indicted on criminal charges related to facilitating cryptocurrency-based money laundering.
Simultaneously, the U.S. government submitted an arrest warrant to Indian authorities. At the time, Besciokov was residing in India and allegedly preparing to flee, but before he could escape, Indian police apprehended him based on intelligence leads and brought him before a court.
Another co-founder of Garantex, Russian national Aleksandr Mira Serda, currently resides in the United Arab Emirates. Due to the absence of an extradition treaty between the UAE and the U.S., Emirati law enforcement agencies are unlikely to take action against him.
Besciokov and Serda co-founded and operated Garantex, employing various strategies to circumvent and violate U.S. sanctions. Furthermore, evidence suggests that the exchange misled American companies into unknowingly engaging in transactions with it, thereby violating sanctions regulations.
Following the seizure of Garantex and the freezing of $26 million in assets, the exchange issued a notification offering affected clients a resolution plan. It invited them to attend in-person meetings at its Moscow office to discuss asset recovery.
Garantex has stated that it remains committed to fulfilling its obligations to users and intends to compensate those affected by frozen assets through a financial restructuring process. The exchange claims that it will leverage its existing assets within Russia to fully reimburse customers for their losses.
Related Posts:
- Secret Service-Led Operation Seizes Garantex Cryptocurrency Exchange
- Phobos Ransomware Administrator Extradited to US to Face Charges
- Hacker accused of invading LinkedIn has extradited Czech Republic to the US
- Three Ukrainian hackers arrested for stealing 15 million credit card records in the US
- Cybercriminal Arrested in Connection with SEC X Account Hack That Manipulated Bitcoin Market
