India arrests man accused of running US$96 billion crypto exchange at request of U.S.

This photo from the U.S. Secret Service shows Aleksej Besciokov who allegedly ran a US$96 billion cryptocurrency exchange that allowed terrorist organizations, drug traffickers and cybercriminals to launder money. (U.S. Secret Service via CNN Newsource)

Indian authorities have arrested a Lithuanian man wanted by the U.S. for allegedly running a US$96 billion cryptocurrency exchange that allowed terrorist organizations, drug traffickers and cybercriminals to launder money.

The arrest caps an intense U.S.-led manhunt for Aleksej Besciokov, that escalated last week with the seizure of the crypto exchange, the freezing of $26 million in assets and the unsealing of an indictment against Besciokov and an alleged accomplice.

The U.S. is expected to pursue Besciokov’s extradition to the U.S. Eastern District of Virginia in what would be a big win in the yearslong battle against money laundering services that allegedly fuel global crime and terrorism. The arrest shows that while the Trump administration has eased up pressure on Russia in some areas, such as offensive cyber operations, the Justice Department is still aggressively pursuing accused criminals with a connection to Russia.

Besciokov had been living in Russia, according to the Justice Department. It is unclear why Besciokov travelled to India.

Police in the southwest Indian state of Kerala arrested Besciokov this week, India’s Central Bureau of Investigation said in a statement that referred to Besciokov as a “fugitive.”

“I can confirm Aleksej Besciokov, one of the administrators of Garantex, was arrested in India at the request of the United States,” U.S. Justice Department spokesperson Nicole Navas Oxman told CNN in an email. She declined to comment further.

CNN has been unable to reach a lawyer representing Besciokov.

The arrest comes less than a week after the Justice Department unsealed an indictment against Besciokov and Aleksandr Mira Serda, a Russian man, for allegedly running Garantex. Besciokov was in charge of keeping Garantex online and running its infrastructure, while Mira Serda was the exchange’s co-founder and “chief commercial officer,” according to the Justice Department.

The Besciokov case is an example of how putting accused money launderers in handcuffs is the surest way to disrupt their activity. The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Garantex in 2022. In response, Besciokov and others “redesigned Garantex’s operations” to evade sanctions and dupe U.S. businesses into working with Garantex, according to the Justice Department. The exchange processed $96 billion in transactions between 2015 and 2019, according to the indictment.

Article written by Sean Lyngaas, CNN