Feds Bust Crypto Kingpins in Billion-Dollar Russian Laundering Scheme

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday that it charged two administrations with operating a multibillion-dollar cryptocurrency money laundering service as part of a coordinated action with Germany and Finland to take down the online infrastructure used to operate the digital asset exchange Garantex.

In doing so, the Justice Department unsealed an indictment against Aleksej Besciokov, 46, a Lithuanian national and Russian resident, and Aleksandr Mira Serda, 40, a Russian national and United Arab Emirates resident, who faces a separate charge of conspiracy to violate sanctions and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business.