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Garantex Administrator Arrested in India Under Extradition Law
Indian police have taken into custody the co-founder of Garantex, a Russian cryptocurrency exchange sanctioned by the European Union and the U.S. government, according to an exclusive report from TechCrunch.
A state police official confirmed to this publication that Aleksej Besciokov was arrested in the coastal municipality of Varkala at 4 p.m. local time (3:30 a.m. PT) on Tuesday. The warrant for his arrest was issued by the Patiala House Court in New Delhi.
While details about the extradition charges are yet to be made public, sources close to the matter suggest that Besciokov’s detention is linked to alleged money laundering activities and cybercrime investigations led by U.S. authorities.
The development follows a series of events that have left Garantex reeling. Last week, the U.S. Justice Department unsealed an indictment against Besciokov and another company executive, accusing them of violating sanctions and engaging in financial transactions worth millions of dollars.
As a result of these allegations, U.S. authorities seized Garantex’s websites, and froze more than $26 million in cryptocurrency linked to the accused individuals. The exchange has since suspended its operations and invited customers to meet with representatives at their Moscow office.
In response to the ongoing situation, Garantex released a statement saying it would compensate users for blocked assets through a procedure similar to financial institution rehabilitation. However, it remains unclear what this plan entails or how it will be implemented.
This is not the first time India has been involved in high-profile international cybersecurity cases. In recent years, law enforcement agencies have collaborated with their U.S. counterparts on several occasions to take down illegal cryptocurrency operations and disrupt organized crime rings.
The arrest of Garantex’s administrator raises questions about the potential implications for the global crypto market and what this means for other companies operating in the space.
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/12/garantex-administrator-arrested-in-india-under-extradition-law/
