Who is Aleksej Besciokov? Crypto Billionaire Ruined By Tether Arrested In India

Police in India have arrested Aleksej Besciokov, the co-founder of Russian crypto change, Garantex after the European Union sanction the change for facilitating cash laundering.

Based on Indian state police officers, Besciokov, a Lithuanian nationwide, was detained within the state of Kerala beneath India’s extradition regulation.

(@Hack_Hound_)

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Aleksej Besciokov Arrested In India Whereas On Vacation With His Household

The arrest occurred within the late afternoon on Tuesday (March 11) following an arrest warrant issued by the Patiala Home Courtroom in New Delhi.

Besciokov was reportedly vacationing along with his household in India when he was arrested. He appeared earlier than a neighborhood court docket in Varkala, Kerala district, after his arrest and is about to be transferred to Delhi.

The Lithuanian nationwide might be transferred to the New Delhi court docket on March 14. Whereas Indian authorities haven’t but disclosed whether or not Besciokov’s arrest was immediately linked to his indictment within the US, his extradition standing suggests he isn’t going through expenses inside India.

Historical past Of Russia’s Garantex Change

Multi-billion-dollar crypto change #Garantex seized over cash laundering ties. Two people, Aleksej Besciokov & Aleksandr Serda, charged. #Crypto #MoneyLaundering #Garantex

Learn: https://t.co/fkZ5VZeFn3

— Hackread.com (@HackRead) March 10, 2025

Garantex shut down its companies final week, on March 6. The platform’s closure got here after Tether, the agency behind the USDT stablecoin, froze roughly 2.5 billion USDT linked to Garantex.

The change, headed by Besciokov, launched in 2019 and was a number one crypto change in Russia. In April 2022, the US Treasury’s Workplace of Overseas Property Management sanctioned Garantex for processing illicit funds.

The illicit funds in query have been linked to hacking, ransomware, terrorism, and drug trafficking. The sanctions didn’t deter Garantex, with the change reportedly facilitating over $60 billion in transactions by way of to 2023.

Besciokov, often known as the hacker alias “proforg,” allegedly headed up Garantex’s technical infrastructure. He’s additionally accused of approving transactions linked to North Korean cybercriminals and Russian elites evading sanctions.

Besciokov’s Co-Conspirator Aleksandr Mira Serda Nonetheless At Massive

Garantex is an OFAC sanctioned entity and simply had infra taken down, belongings seized, workforce members charged by regulation enforcement from a number of nations (US, Germany, Finland)

They have been used to launder a whole lot of tens of millions from ransomeware, DPRK hacks, and so forth

22.8M+ USDT was… pic.twitter.com/GeIKAOEDZO

— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) March 7, 2025

Aleksej Besciokov’s arrest in India comes simply days after the US Division of Justice (DOJ) unsealed an indictment charging him and Garantex’s different alleged co-founder, Aleksandr Mira Serda, with conspiracy to commit cash laundering.

Besciokov is going through extra expenses for violating US sanctions and working an unlicensed cash transmission enterprise. Every cost carries a most jail sentence of 20 years. He additionally faces an extra 5 years for the unlicensed enterprise violation.

US authorities declare Besciokov and Serda knowingly laundered illicit funds by way of the change. It believes each people took steps to hide Garantex’s actions, together with shifting operational cryptocurrency wallets every day to bypass detection.

Authorities within the US, Germany, and Finland seized servers internet hosting Garantex’s operations as a part of a coordinated worldwide operation. On the similar time, the US Secret Service has frozen over $26 million linked to the change.

Regulation enforcement within the US has additionally obtained copies of the change’s buyer and accounting databases, which can end in additional expenses for Besciokov and Serda.

The US authorities is predicted to pursue Besciokov’s extradition to face expenses within the Japanese District of Virginia, the place the indictment was initially filed.

Serda, a Russian nationwide believed to be residing within the United Arab Emirates, continues to be on the free. The DOJ claims that Serda acted as Garantex’s chief business officer. It’s believed that he managed the change’s enterprise operations whereas helping in laundering illicit funds.

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