Indian authorities have arrested Aleksej Besciokov, the co-founder and one of the administrators of Russian crypto exchange Garantex. The 46-year-old was arrested while he was on vacation with his family in Varkala, India.
Besciokov (also known as “proforg” and “iram”) managed Garantex with 40-year-old Aleksandr Mira Serda (the other founder of the service) between 2019 and 2025.
Last Friday, the United States charged both men with facilitating cybercriminals to launder illicit proceeds through Garantex and violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
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Besciokov was also charged with conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transfer business, which (in itself) could carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
According to court documents, Besciokov and Mira Serda allegedly knew that Garantex was being used to launder illegal proceeds and facilitate various crimes, including hacking, ransomware, drug trafficking and terrorism.
The US Department of Justice says the two defendants also attempted to conceal the crypto exchange's involvement in facilitating illegal activities.
On Thursday, the U.S. Secret Service and the Department of Justice seized several Garantex domains (Garantex[.]org, Garantex[.]io, and Garantex[.]academy) and servers hosting its activities. German and Finnish law enforcement authorities also assisted in this operation
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Authorities were also said to have gained access to older copies of Garantex's servers, including customer and accounting databases . As a result, they froze more than $26 million in funds that Garantex used to facilitate money laundering.
On the same day that authorities targeted Garantex, the service was forced to suspend operations after Tether blocked its digital wallets following European Union sanctions.
Garantex had previously been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)after transactions worth more than $100 million were linked to dark web markets and cybercriminals.
The arrest of the Garantex administrator was the result of a collaboration between several law enforcement agencies, underscoring the growing priority given to combating cybercrime .. This coordinated effort involved sophisticated technology and information sharing, enabling authorities to penetrate and uncover the crypto service’s malicious activities
See also: What is crypto wallet draining and how to avoid it
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As cybercrime continues to evolve and become more sophisticated, cooperation between law enforcement agencies has become critical to addressing these threats.
The arrest of Aleksej Besciokov proves that no individual or platform can escape law enforcement. With advances in technology and cross-border coordination, authorities are able to identify and prosecute criminals and those who help them.
Source: www.bleepingcomputer.com
