The Indian Intelligence authorities arrested a Russian resident accused of involvement with Garantex, a cryptocurrency exchange. The exchange is said to help criminal entities such as terrorists and drug traffickers launder their money.

An international coalition of law enforcement agencies seized the official website of Garantex, which has previously been sanctioned by the U.S. and E.U. governments.

The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) sanctioned Garantex in 2022, accusing the exchange of knowingly facilitating money laundering for ransomware actors, including Conti and Black Basta, and darknet markets like Hydra, which, before its 2022 shut down, was once the largest darknet market in the world.

Authorities in India have arrested a cryptocurrency exchange administrator wanted by the US for allegedly helping cybercriminals launder money and violate sanctions. Aleksej Besciokov, a Lithuanian citizen and Russian resident, was arrested in the southern state of Kerala on Tuesday, India's top investigative agency said.

India arrests Russia-linked crypto exchange admin wanted by US - Crypto kingpin Aleksej Besciokov arrested from Varkala in south India

Indian authorities arrested Aleksej Besciokov, the co-founder and one of the administrators of the Russian Garantex crypto-exchange while vacationing with his family in Varkala, India.

US Department of Justice (DOJ), in an operation alongside authorities in Germany and Finland, announced the disruption of Garantex.

The sanctions comes after an ICIJ investigation linked Garantex to actors in the Russian government and criminal organizations.

Indian authorities have arrested a Lithuanian man wanted by the US for allegedly running a $96 billion cryptocurrency exchange that allowed terrorist organizations, drug traffickers and cybercriminals to launder money.

A Russian-linked crypto kingpin on the US wanted list has been arrested in India while on a family holiday, authorities said.

Police in the Indian state of Kerala arrested a Lithuanian national who is wanted in the US for running Garantex, a sanctioned crypto exchange.