TechFlow news — On March 13, according to TechCrunch, Aleksej Besciokov, co-founder of Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex, was arrested by local police on March 12 in Varkala, Kerala, India. The exchange had previously been sanctioned by the European Union and the U.S. government.
Indian police confirmed the arrest was carried out based on an arrest warrant issued by New Delhi's Patiala House Court, at the request of the U.S. government. Nicole Oxman, spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Justice, confirmed the news to TechCrunch but declined further comment.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice accused Besciokov of personally approving transactions on Garantex linked to North Korean state hackers and other cybercriminals, filing criminal charges against him for facilitating money laundering through a cryptocurrency exchange. U.S. authorities have frozen over $26 million in cryptocurrency assets and seized Garantex's website.
