Crypto in India has a major setback for the world, when the Central Bureau of Investigation of India (CBI) arrested Lithuanian citizen Aleksej Bešciokov on 12 March. Bešciokov is alleged to have run the Cryptocurrency Trade Garantex, who was allegedly involved in money laundering and Illugal Financial Activity. Local police in the state of Kerala, India, along with central officials, carried out the arrest. The arrest took place after the allegations made by the United States, alleging that Bešciokov was accused of being involved in money laundering and other Illigal Activity.
Garantex and money laundering accused
Aleksej Bešciokov has been accused in a case in the US that he and his co-accused, Aleksandr Mira Serda made money laundering through Crypto Trade Garantex. The platform was used to hide the profit of crimes, including activities such as ransomware, computer hacking, drugs transactions and ban vilation.
A prosecution report filed on February 27 in the court in Virginia district of America said that Bešciokov and his companions were earning profits from these activities since 2019. Explain that Garantex’s services had spread all over the world and it was allegedly working as a system of illegal financial transactions.
After the case surfaced, Tether freeze the $ 27 million USDT available on Garantex and temporarily suspended all the services of the platform. US officials then also seized three domain names supporting Garantex’s operations. If you want to know that What is tetherSo you can read our article related to it by going to the link.
Arrest and potential extradition in India
After Bešciokov’s arrest, the question arises as to whether he will be extradited to America from India. Under the extradition act 1962 of India, Bešciokov can be handed over to American authorities. However, the case may withstand legal challenges, as in the case of Co-Founder Do Kwon of Terraform Labs in the past. Do Kwon was arrested in Montenegro and was later extradited to the US.
It is worth noting that Garantex was banned in 2022 by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury Department. The European Union also then banned the platform, which was related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Significantly, recently, the Government of India had instructed all investigative agencies to conduct forensic examination of illegal transactions of Crypto. After this step, the question was arising that Will the Government of India OPPOSE CryptoOr will take some strict steps related to Crypto.
Conclusion
Aleksej bešciokov’s arrest and steps taken against Garantex are important events in the Crypto industry. This incident shows that cryptocurrency exchanges are being monitored strictly at the global level and strict steps are being taken against the platforms involved in illegal activities. Aleksej bešciokov’s extradition and Garantex’s prediction prove that governments and judicial institutions are now becoming even more strict to increase transparency and security in crypto space.
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