Aleksej Besciokov, a man from Lithuania, was arrested in India because the United States wants to charge him with serious crimes. Officials say he was trying to run away from the country when they caught him. Besciokov is accused of using a cryptocurrency exchange called Garantex to launder money, including money from ransomware attacks.
From 2019 to 2025, it’s believed that he helped criminals transfer over $96 billion using Garantex. Many of these groups are involved in illegal activities, including terrorism. Recently, the U.S., Germany, and Finland worked together to shut down Garantex, and two people who ran the exchange were charged.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Kerala Police arrested Besciokov on a request from the United States. They got a special arrest order from a court in Delhi on March 10, 2025. Now, he will be taken to court in India before possibly being sent back to the U.S. for trial.
The U.S. Department of Justice shared that Besciokov was one of the main people involved in running Garantex, which handled huge amounts of cryptocurrency since 2019. The exchange was punished by the U.S. in April 2022 for being part of illegal financial actions. Besciokov faces three serious charges that could lead to many years in prison if found guilty.
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