Indian authorities have arrested Garantex administrator Aleksej Besciokov for allegedly using the cryptocurrency exchange to launder money for cybercriminals.
Besciokov, a Lithuanian national who resides in Russia, was arrested in the Indian state of Kerala at the request of the United States. He has been charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering by the U.S., along with Garantex’s chief commercial officer Aleksandr Mira Serda.
“Between 2019 and 2025, Russian national Aleksandr Mira Serda and Lithuanian national Aleksej Besciokov controlled and operated Garantex, a cryptocurrency exchange that allegedly facilitated money laundering by transnational criminal organizations (including terrorist organizations) and sanctions violations,” according to the U.S. Secret Service. Garantex has processed at least US$96 billion in cryptocurrency transactions since 2019.
“Garantex received hundreds of millions in criminal proceeds and was used to facilitate various crimes, including hacking, ransomware, terrorism, and drug trafficking, often with substantial impact to U.S. victims.”
Besciokov has also been charged with conspiracy to violate the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, and with conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. He will appear in court in Delhi before likely being extradited to the U.S.
U.S. authorities have not said if Mira Serda has been apprehended.
The U.S., along with Germany and Finland, moved to disrupt Garantex’s operations earlier this month. U.S. authorities seized three domain names used by the cryptocurrency exchange on 6 March, with German and Finnish law enforcement seizing its servers.
The Treasury Department sanctioned Garantex in 2022 for facilitating money laundering. Besciokov and other Garantex figures then continued to transact with U.S. businesses, the Justice Department said, and reconfigured the exchange’s operations to evade the sanctions.
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