India arrests Russian-Lithuanian over crypto money laundering case

Indian instrumentality enforcement has detained Aleksej Besciokov, a Lithuanian national residing successful Russia, connected charges of wealth laundering and breaching planetary sanctions done his relation successful the Russian cryptocurrency speech Garantex. The arrest, a associated cognition by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Kerala Police, came astatine the behest of the United States, which is present seeking his extradition.

Authorities nabbed Besciokov arsenic helium allegedly tried to flight India. The US Justice Department (DOJ) claims helium managed Garantex, a Moscow-based speech deed with sanctions successful 2022, accusing it of handling implicit $96 cardinal successful cryptocurrency deals tied to cybercriminals, terrorists, ransomware schemes, and cause trafficking networks.

Just past week, the United States, alongside Germany and Finland, took down Garantex’s integer infrastructure arsenic portion of a wider effort to curb amerciable cryptocurrency activities.

Besciokov faces superior accusations successful the United States, including conspiracy to launder money, which carries a imaginable 20-year sentence, violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act with different imaginable 20 years, and moving an unlicensed money-transmitting operation, punishable by up to 5 years. 

The U.S. Department of Justice says Besciokov was cardinal to moving Garantex, managing its tech setup, and greenlighting transactions that supposedly funded crimes threatening U.S. and planetary security.

After a U.S. request, India acted fast. On March 10, 2025, the Ministry of External Affairs got a impermanent apprehension warrant from a Delhi tribunal nether the 1962 Extradition Act. The CBI’s Interpol squad worked with Kerala Police to nab Besciokov.

He’s slated to look earlier the Patiala House Court soon, wherever extradition hearings volition begin. While the timeline remains uncertain, officials expect a fast-tracked process fixed the gravity of the allegations.

In a related move, the US Secret Service confiscated 3 Garantex-linked domain names connected March 6 and froze $26 cardinal successful connected funds. Blockchain analysts astatine TRM Labs hailed the cognition arsenic a captious measurement successful battling illicit finance, though they cautioned that sanctioned exchanges often resurface nether caller identities.

Also Read: India Police Bust $2.4M Crypto Scam, Arrest Three successful Assam