Garantex Executive Aleksej Besciokov Detained in India: Report

Besciokov faces charges of money laundering conspiracy, sanctions violations, and operating an unlicensed money transmission business.

Key Points:

• A reported arrest has been made in India of an operator from the sanctioned Russian crypto exchange Garantex.
• Last week, international law enforcement seized Garantex's servers and domains, freezing $28 million in cryptocurrency.
• The exchange was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) in 2022 for allegedly serving ransomware groups and darknet markets.

An operator of the sanctioned Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex was reportedly arrested in India on Tuesday, according to recent news reports.

Lithuanian national and Russian resident Aleksej Besciokov, 46, was reportedly arrested by police in Kerala, India, while vacationing with his family on the southern coast, according to TechCrunch and KrebsOnSecurity.

Last week, international law enforcement agencies from the U.S., Germany, and Finland seized Garantex’s domains and servers, freezing nearly $28 million in cryptocurrency with assistance from stablecoin issuer Tether. The exchange was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) in 2022 for allegedly enabling money laundering for ransomware groups such as Conti and Black Basta, as well as darknet markets like Hydra, which was the world’s largest before its shutdown in 2022.

Beyond allegedly enabling money laundering for criminals—including North Korea’s Lazarus Group, which was responsible for last month’s $1.5 billion Bybit heist—Garantex is also reported to have played a significant role in sanctions evasion. The exchange has been linked to high-end sanctions evasion services like the TGR Group, which reportedly caters to Russian oligarchs.

Alongside the recent seizure, U.S. prosecutors charged Aleksej Besciokov and another Garantex operator, 40-year-old Russian national Aleksandr Mira Serda, a UAE resident, with money laundering conspiracy. Besciokov is also listed on the U.S. Secret Service’s Most Wanted list.

Neither the Kerala police nor the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has responded to requests for comment regarding Besciokov’s reported arrest.