US authorities announced on Wednesday January 18 the arrest of a Russian, founder of the Hong Kong-based Bitzlato cryptocurrency platform, accused of laundering $700 million from criminal activities.
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Anatoli Legkodimov, a 40-year-old Russian national living in China, was arrested on the night of Tuesday January 17 to Wednesday January 18 in Miami, Florida, as part of an international operation involving French agents.
He will be presented in the day to a federal judge for his indictment for “
unauthorized activity of transmission of money
”.
“Answer for your actions in a US court”
"
Today, the Ministry of Justice deals a blow to the ecosystem of cryptocriminals
" and "
responds to the crisis of confidence in the cryptocurrency markets
", commented Deputy Minister Lisa Monaco during a press conference .
"
Whether you're breaking the law in China or Europe, or operating our financial system from an island in the tropics, you can expect to be held accountable for your actions in a US court
," she added, referring to the arrest in the Bahamas of the former boss of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, Sam Bankman-Fried.
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In this new case, the American justice criticizes Anatoli Legkodimov for having adopted a “
minimum identification
” policy for his clients, boasting of not asking for “
neither selfie nor passport
”.
As a result, Bitzlato has become "
a haven for criminal funds
", according to the Justice Department.
Transactions by Hydra Market
The company is accused of having carried out most of its transactions with "
Hydra Market
", the main sales platform of the global "
darknet
" until its dismantling in April during a joint operation by German and American authorities.
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Operating in the Russian language since 2015, Hydra Market sold both drugs and fake documents on this dark side of the internet.
According to the ministry, Hydra users have traded more than $700 million in cryptocurrency through Bitzlato.
However, according to the complaint, Anatoli Legkodimov knew that his clients were hiding under false identities to carry out illegal activities.
In an internal message, he had admitted that they were "
crooks
".
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