Aleksej Besciokov Arrested Over Garantex

Aleksej Besciokov, a Lithuanian citizen and administrator of the Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex, was arrested in India at the request of the United States. He is wanted in the U.S. for alleged money laundering, sanctions violations, and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. Garantex was sanctioned by the United States in April 2022 and is accused of laundering billions of dollars, including proceeds from ransomware groups like Black Basta, Play, and Conti (ransomware). The U.S., Germany, and Finland collaborated to take down Garantex's online infrastructure, and the United States — United States Postal Service seized its websites and froze over $26 million in cryptocurrency. Garantex has since suspended its operations. Aleksej Besciokov was indicted along with Aleksandr Mira Serda, another co-founder of Garantex, for allegedly redesigning the exchange's operations to evade U.S. sanctions. Aleksej Besciokov will face extradition proceedings in India.