Garantex admin arrested in India at U.S. request for operating $96 billion Russian crypto exchange

The Indian Intelligence authorities arrested a Russian resident accused of involvement with Garantex, a cryptocurrency exchange. The exchange is said to help criminal entities such as terrorists and drug traffickers launder their money. 

Police in the Indian state of Kerala arrested a Lithuanian national wanted in the United States. The United States Department of Justice charged Aleksej Besciokov with conspiracy in operating an unlicenced crypto exchange.  

India authorities arrest crypto exchange administrator with links to Russia 

India’s top investigative agency reported that Aleksej Besciokov was arrested in the southern state of Kerala on Tuesday. The agency revealed that the accused person was wanted in the United States. The U.S. Department of Justice accused Besciokov of running a crypto exchange that helped cybercriminals launder money and violate sanctions.

CBI have arrested crypto currency exchange administrator Aleksej Besciokov, a Lithuanian national wanted by US authorities, from Kerala.

He is accused of money laundering conspiracy and violating sanctions. pic.twitter.com/qgbjlFA1ZY

— Abhishek Jha (@abhishekjha157) March 13, 2025

The DOJ said he was one of the administrators at Garantex and was responsible for reviewing and approving transactions. The department said the accused person resided in Russia, but it was still unclear when he relocated to India. 

India’s Central Bureau of Investigations commented in a statement that it issued a provisional arrest warrant against the accused at the request of the United States government. It added that Besciokov planned to flee India before his arrest.

It added that Besciokov would be produced before a Court in Delhi, which will decide when he will be extradited to the United States. The United States DOJ said it collaborated with Finland and Germany to take down the crypto exchange.

It added that Garantex has processed at least $96 billion in crypto transactions since 2019. The department also alleged that Garantex received millions in criminal proceeds that were later diverted to finance several crimes, including terrorism, drug trafficking, and hacking.

The DOJ added that Besciokov was aware of the illegal activities that occurred on the exchange and tried to conceal them until 2025. It cited an instance where Russian law enforcement sought records of an account registered to its co-founder; the accused persons provided the officers with incomplete information. The department said the exchange’s officials said the account was not verified despite having associated it with Serda’s personal identifying documents. 

It highlighted that the Garantex crypto exchange helps launder funds from ransomware groups such as Black Basta, Conti, and Play. 

The U.S DOJ says it seized domain websites that supported Garantex’s operations 

The department announced on March 6 that United States law enforcement, including the Secret Service, had seized three website domains used to support Garantex’s operations. It noted that their seizure would prevent the sites from being used for further crimes. The department highlighted that anyone who visited the websites would get a notification saying the domains were seized by law enforcement.

It added that the US law enforcement authorities had obtained earlier copies of Garantex’s servers, including accounting and customer databases. The DOJ revealed it had also frozen over $26 million used to advance Garantex’s money laundering activities. 

It also noted that money laundering charges carry a maximum jail term of twenty years. The department added that conspiracy to operate unlicensed money-transacting businesses carries a maximum five-year jail term. 

Garantex was sanctioned by the United States Treasury Department in 2022. Court documents revealed that despite the widespread publicity of the sanctions and the administrators’ knowledge, the exchange’s officials continued their operations.

Besciokov and his associates later redesigned the exchange’s operations to evade the sanctions. The exchange is said to have induced American companies to work with it. 

The department revealed that Garantex moved its operational cryptocurrency wallets to different virtual currency addresses. It added that this made it difficult for U.S-based crypto exchanges to identify and restrict transactions with Garantex’s accounts. 

The DOJ noted that Garantex continued its operations in the United States without registering with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) as required by law.

The United States is expected to prosecute Besciokov’s extradition in the Eastern District of Virginia. Last week, United States officials charged Besciokov and Garantex Russian co-founder Aleksandr Mira Serda with money laundering. The officials alleged that Besciokov kept the exchange online and its infrastructure running. 

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