Crypto Exchange Co-Founder Arrested in India for Money Laundering

Indian authorities have arrested Aleksej Besciokov, the alleged co-founder of Garantex, a cryptocurrency exchange implicated in extensive money laundering activities. Besciokov, a 46-year-old Lithuanian national, was apprehended while vacationing with his family in Varkala, a coastal city in the Indian state of Kerala. His arrest follows an indictment unsealed by the US Department of Justice on March 7, which charges Besciokov and his co-founder, 40-year-old Aleksandr Mira Serda, a Russian national residing in the United Arab Emirates, with conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Garantex, which launched in 2019, was sanctioned by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control in April 2022 for its role in facilitating the movement of criminal proceeds. The exchange has been involved in various forms of unlawful activity, including facilitating ransomware attacks, drug trafficking, and evading sanctions imposed on Russian elites. The firm has also enabled Russian oligarchs to transfer their wealth abroad, particularly following the invasion of Ukraine.

The US Department of Justice alleges that Besciokov served as Garantex’s primary technical administrator, responsible for maintaining critical infrastructure and approving transactions. In conjunction with the indictment, German and Finnish law enforcement agencies seized servers that hosted Garantex’s operations, and US authorities have frozen over $26 million linked to the exchange’s money laundering activities. Besciokov is said to have operated under the hacker handle “proforg,” a nickname associated with a long-running Russian-language forum known for its explicit content.

The charges against Besciokov include conspiracy to violate the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, which could lead to an additional five years of imprisonment. Besciokov is scheduled to appear in a Delhi court on March 14, where he will face these serious charges. If found guilty of any offenses alleged, he will forfeit to the United States any property—whether real or personal—that was involved in the commission of the offense or any property traceable to such assets. Furthermore, if convicted of the offense detailed in Count II of the indictment, Besciokov will also forfeit any property that constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable to the offense.