Garantex Operator Arrested in India Amid Money Laundering Charges

Aleksej Besciokov, a 46-year-old operator of the sanctioned Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex, was arrested in Kerala, India while on vacation.

• Besciokov's arrest follows a recent international law enforcement operation that seized Garantex’s domains and servers.
• The operation froze nearly $28 million in cryptocurrency linked to the exchange, aided by Tether.
• Garantex was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in 2022 for facilitating money laundering for ransomware groups and darknet markets.
• It is also implicated in sanctions evasion for organizations like North Korea's Lazarus Group, involved in a $1.5 billion heist.
• U.S. prosecutors charged Besciokov with conspiracy to commit money laundering; he appears on the U.S. Secret Service’s Most Wanted list.

Details about Besciokov’s arrest have not been confirmed by Kerala police or the U.S. Department of Justice.