Authorities in the United States, Germany, and Finland have disrupted Garantex, a cryptocurrency exchange accused of facilitating money laundering for transnational criminal networks, including terrorist organizations.
The Justice Department announced the operation, which involved seizing domain names and freezing $26 million in illicit funds.
Garantex Administrators Indicted
A federal indictment in the Eastern District of Virginia was unsealed against Aleksej Besciokov, 46, a Lithuanian national residing in Russia, and Aleksandr Mira Serda, 40, a Russian national living in the United Arab Emirates.
Per the announcement, the two men controlled Garantex’s operations from 2019 to 2025, with Besciokov serving as the platform’s technical administrator and Mira Serda acting as its chief commercial officer.
Both are charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering. Besciokov faces additional charges related to sanctions violations and operating an unlicensed money transmission business.
Notedly, prosecutors allege that they knowingly processed hundreds of millions in illicit transactions, facilitating activities such as ransomware, hacking, terrorism financing, and drug trafficking.
Sanctions Violations and Evasion Tactics
In April 2022, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Garantex for laundering funds from darknet markets and ransomware groups.
Despite these sanctions, prosecutors claim Besciokov and his co-conspirators continued to operate the exchange, redesigning its infrastructure to evade restrictions.
Court documents reveal that Garantex allegedly shifted its cryptocurrency wallets daily to obscure its involvement, making it difficult for U.S.-based exchanges to detect and block transactions.
The indictment also accuses Garantex of misleading Russian law enforcement when authorities sought information about a user account linked to Mira Serda.
Coordinated International Enforcement and Potential Legal Consequences
The operation involved law enforcement agencies from Germany and Finland, which seized servers supporting Garantex’s operations. Meanwhile, U.S. authorities executed a judicial seizure of Garantex’s web domains, including Garantex.org, Garantex.io, and Garantex.academy. Visitors to these sites now encounter a seizure notice from law enforcement.
Besciokov and Mira Serda each face up to 20 years in prison if convicted on the money laundering charges. Besciokov also faces an additional 20 years for violating U.S. sanctions laws and five years for operating an unlicensed money transmission business.
