WASHINGTON: Indian authorities arrested at Washington’s request a cryptocurrency exchange administrator accused of money laundering conspiracy and violating sanctions, India’s top crime fighting bureau said on Wednesday.
The United States, Germany and Finland took down the online infrastructure used by the Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex, the US Justice Department said last week, adding that two administrators of the exchange were charged.
One of those administrators was Aleksej Besciokov, a Russian resident and Lithuanian national who was charged with money laundering and also faced accusations of violating sanctions and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, the Justice Department said on Friday.
Besciokov was arrested in the southern Indian state of Kerala, India’s Central Bureau of Investigation said, adding he was wanted by US authorities. The CBI said that at Washington’s request, India’s foreign ministry had a provisional arrest warrant issued.
It added Besciokov was planning to flee India. It was not immediately clear why he was in India. Washington is expected to pursue Besciokov’s extradition. His representative could not immediately be reached.
“I can confirm Aleksej Besciokov, one of the administrators of Garantex, was arrested in India at the request of the United States,” a US Justice Department spokesperson told CNN.
The exchange has processed at least $96 billion in cryptocurrency transactions since April 2019, the US Justice Department said last week.
Garantex was sanctioned by the US in April 2022.
Blockchain research company TRM Labs said in a blog post last week that the takedown of Garantex “marks a major milestone in the fight against illicit finance” but cautioned that sanctioned exchanges often attempt to evade restrictions by creating new entities.
At US request, India arrests crypto administrator accused of money laundering
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At US request, India arrests crypto administrator accused of money laundering
- The exchange has processed at least $96 billion in cryptocurrency transactions since April 2019, the US Justice Department said last week
Estonia sentences pro-Russian politician to 14 years for treason
- Roots, who was sentenced to 11 years, had informed Peterson of Russian interest in meeting
- “Estonian law enforcement works tirelessly to ensure Kremlin subversion fails,” Tsahkna posted on X
TALLINN: An Estonian court sentenced pro-Russian politician Aivo Peterson to 14 years in prison for treason, it announced in a press release on Thursday.
The Harju County Court found that Peterson and collaborator Dmitri Roots, both Estonian citizens, “assisted the Russian Federation in the latter’s influence activities against Estonia.”
Roots, who was sentenced to 11 years, had informed Peterson of Russian interest in meeting and cooperating with a political party seeking to shape debate in Estonia, a close Ukrainian ally.
This led to a meeting being planned, which according to the court “would have opened up the possibility of covertly influencing decisions in the Estonian political landscape.”
“Estonian law enforcement works tirelessly to ensure Kremlin subversion fails,” Estonia’s foreign minister Margus Tsahkna posted on X in reaction to the ruling.
A former border guard, Peterson co-founded the KOOS (“Together“) party, which called to leave NATO, decrease defense spending and preserve Soviet-era monuments in the formerly occupied republic.
He was never elected to public office but secured significant numbers of votes in national and European elections.
Along with Roots, he was also accused of treason for attempting to establish a civil defense organization — but this was without Russian instructions.
The court additionally found that Peterson took trips organized by Russia to occupied Ukrainian territories.
While there, he recorded videos aiming to encourage “Western and European audiences to stop supporting Ukraine” in support of “Russia’s national interests,” which he posted on social media.
Russia covered Peterson’s trip expenses, and he appeared on several pro-Russian channels as a candidate for the Estonian parliament.
The excursion was coordinated in part by Russian citizen Andrey Andronov, who was also sentenced to 11 years on Thursday.
All three were fined thousands of euros by the court.
They have a right to appeal the ruling within 30 days.
