At the request of the United States, Indian authorities arrested Aleksej Besciokov, a cryptocurrency exchange administrator accused of conspiracy to commit money laundering and violating sanctions, according to India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday.
The US, Germany, and Finland recently dismantled the infrastructure used by the Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex, as confirmed by the US Justice Department. The department added that two administrators of the exchange, including Besciokov, were charged.
Besciokov, a Russian national and Lithuanian citizen, faced charges of money laundering, sanction violations, and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, the Justice Department reported. His arrest occurred in Kerala, a southern Indian state, at the request of US authorities, following the issuance of a provisional arrest warrant by India’s foreign ministry.
The CBI noted that Besciokov had been planning to flee India, though the reason for his presence in the country remains unclear. The US is expected to seek his extradition. Besciokov’s representative could not be reached for comment.
The US Justice Department confirmed Besciokov’s arrest, with a spokesperson stating, “I can confirm Aleksej Besciokov, one of the administrators of Garantex, was arrested in India at the request of the United States.”
Since April 2019, Garantex has processed over $96 billion in cryptocurrency transactions, as reported by the US Justice Department. The exchange was sanctioned by the US in April 2022.
Blockchain research firm TRM Labs highlighted the takedown of Garantex as a significant achievement in the fight against illicit finance, though it also cautioned that sanctioned exchanges often attempt to circumvent restrictions by establishing new entities.
