Crypto fraudster wanted in US arrested in Kerala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A Lithuanian national wanted by the US was arrested by

Varkala police

here on Tuesday on charges of financial fraud committed in the US. The arrest was made based on an

Interpol red corner notice

.
Aleksej Besciokov

(46), alleged co-founder of Garantex, a cryptocurrency exchange sanctioned by the US govt in 2022, was on vacation with his family in Kerala.
According to police, Besciokov facilitated the laundering of billions of dollars by transnational criminal and cybercriminal organisations. On March 7, the

US justice department

unsealed an indictment against Besciokov and another alleged co-founder of Garantex, Aleksandr Mira Serda (40), a Russian living in UAE.
Varkala DSP B Gopakumar said that police received a direction from the additional CJM at Patiala House courts to apprehend him.

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