Secret Service Cracks Down on Russian Crypto Exchange Garantex

The Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex is connected to a money laundering network that the U.S. Secret Service is working harder to break up. According to authorities, the platform enabled illegal transactions totaling hundreds of millions of dollars, thereby enabling terrorist financing, hacking, and drug trafficking.

Officials claim that the exchange’s operators, Russian national Aleksandr Mira Serda and Lithuanian national Aleksej Besciokov, were aware of these illicit transactions. They are accused of misleading law authorities by giving them inaccurate or insufficient details on how the platform worked.

Arrests and Seized Assets

Both Serda and Besciokov face one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Additionally, Besciokov faces separate charges for violating the International Economic Emergency Powers Act and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, which could lead to another 25 years behind bars.

Last week, Besciokov was arrested by Indian officials at the request of U.S. authorities. Around the same time, on March 6, the Secret Service frozen $26 million in assets and confiscated three domain names associated with Garantex.

Authorities in Finland and Germany also contributed by seizing servers that were involved in the trade.

Garantex declared that it would suspend operations on the same day that the assets were seized. The action came after the platform’s wallets, which allegedly contained $28 million, were frozen by Tether (USDT).

This operation highlights continual international efforts to tackle financial crime in the digital asset market, as regulatory bodies tighten their grasp on illicit crypto activity.