Indian authorities have apprehended Aleksej Besciokov, co-founder and administrator of the Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex, while he was vacationing with his family in Varkala, India. The 46-year-old Lithuanian national and Russian resident was arrested by Kerala state police under India’s extradition law.
Besciokov, also known by the aliases “proforg” and “iram,” operated Garantex alongside 40-year-old Russian national Aleksandr Mira Serda between 2019 and 2025. Both individuals now face serious charges in the United States, including facilitating money laundering for criminal organizations (carrying a maximum 20-year sentence) and violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (also 20 years). Besciokov faces an additional charge of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business, which could result in up to five years imprisonment.
Court documents allege that Besciokov and Mira Serda knowingly allowed Garantex to be used for laundering criminal proceeds and enabling various illegal activities, including hacking, ransomware attacks, drug trafficking, and terrorism. The U.S. Justice Department claims they deliberately attempted to conceal the exchange’s involvement in these illicit operations.
In a coordinated effort with German and Finnish authorities, the U.S. Secret Service and Department of Justice seized multiple Garantex domains and servers. Law enforcement also obtained copies of Garantex’s customer and accounting databases and froze over $26 million in funds linked to money laundering activities.
The exchange was forced to suspend operations after Tether blocked its digital wallets following European Union sanctions. Blockchain analysis company Elliptic reported that Garantex has processed over $60 billion in cryptocurrency transactions since being sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2022, with total transactions exceeding $96 billion. The platform has reportedly been used for sanctions evasion by Russian elites and to launder proceeds from various criminal enterprises, including ransomware attacks and darknet market trade.