Indian authorities have arrested Alexey Beschokov, a Lithuanian citizen and co-founder of Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex, which is under US and EU sanctions. He was detained at the request of the US, where he is accused of laundering money for cybercrime groups through cryptocurrency.
Beschokov was detained in India while trying to leave the country. According to investigators, he approved transactions for ransomware operators, including North Korean hacking groups. Garantex was dismantled by international law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and Europol, because it was used to launder funds obtained through cybercrime. The exchange facilitated the conversion of stolen cryptocurrencies into fiat money, making it difficult to track them.
Another co-founder of Garantex, Alexander Mira Serda, is currently in the UAE, which does not have an extradition treaty with the US, making his arrest unlikely. Garantex was created as an anonymous cryptocurrency exchange that provided confidential exchange of digital assets. After the imposition of US sanctions, the exchange was closed, and its assets worth $ 26 million were frozen. Despite this, the company said that it intends to reimburse customers through financial restructuring in Russia.
Beschokov’s arrest and the international investigation into Garantex could become a landmark precedent in the fight against money laundering through cryptocurrency. The US is insisting on his extradition, which could affect future global measures against the illegal use of crypto exchanges.
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