Indian authorities on Wednesday introduced the arrest of Aleksej Besciokov, the co-founder of sanctioned crypto change Garantex—and alleged cash launderer.
In a Wednesday submit on X, India’s Central Bureau of Investigation mentioned it had arrested Besciokov, 46, within the metropolis of Thiruvananthapuram.
Besciokov allegedly co-founded Russian crypto change Garantex, which U.S. authorities say has ties to sanctioned banks and legal teams.
In a coordinated motion with CBI, Kerala Police arrests wished legal of USA from Thiruvananthapuram pic.twitter.com/bVJZr1YEg2
— Central Bureau of Investigation (India) (@CBIHeadquarters) March 12, 2025
The CBI mentioned in its announcement that Besciokov was “planning to flee the nation.” He was arrested following a request from American authorities.
U.S. feds final week seized and took down the Garantex web site. The U.S. Division of the Treasury’s Workplace of International Property Management, FBI, and Division of Justice, together with German police, sanctioned Garantex in 2022 for allegedly laundering stolen funds.
A March 7 indictment in opposition to Besciokov alleges that the Lithuanian citizen and his co-defendents “knew that legal proceeds have been being laundered by Garantex,” but continued to show a blind eye.
Specifically, feds allege that Besciokov knew North Korea-sponsored hackers, the Lazarus Group, used his change to obfuscate stolen funds.
The DOJ didn’t instantly reply to Decrypt’s request for remark.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
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