Bitzlato managers arrested in Europe, stock exchange has washed 1 billion euros, says Europol-Exchanges
Bitzlato managers arrested in Europe, stock exchange has washed 1 billion euros, says Europol-Exchanges
European law enforcement agencies have arrested four other members of the management team of the Bitzlato crypto exchange, Europe said. According to the police authority, almost half of the funds processed over the platform were associated with various criminal activities.
Bitzlato Senior Management in Europe targeted, dismantled stock exchange infrastructure
As part of the international investigation against the crypto exchange with the participation of law enforcement and judicial authorities in several European countries, high-ranking managers of the recently looted Bitzlato have been arrested.
According to a press release from the European Union for cooperation in the field of criminal prosecution ( Europol ) On Monday there were also Belgium, Cyprus, Portugal, Spain. and the Netherlands involved.
The Coin registered in Hong Kong The trading platform is suspected of facilitating large amounts of criminal income, emphasized the agency. Last week the USA announced The arrest of your co-founder and majority owner Legkodymov, a Russian citizen resident in China, in Miami. The digital infrastructure based in France was also switched off.
In addition to Legkodymov, who is considered the main administrator of Bitzlato, four other people have been arrested in Europe. Among them were the CEO, the financial director and the marketing director of the stock exchange, which were arrested in Spain, and another person who was tied up in Cyprus with handcuffs, as Europol explained in detail without revealing their identity.
The police carried out eight house searches, half of them in Spain, at an address in the USA, two in Portugal and one in Cyprus. Round exchanges with cryptocurrencies, vehicles and electronic devices worth 18 million euros ($ 19.5 million) were confiscated and over 100 accounts frozen from other stock exchanges, which affects a total of 50 million euros.
almost half of the Bitzlato transactions in connection with crime, claims Europol
Bitzlato, which is little known outside the Russian -speaking market, is working worldwide worldwide and facilitates the quick conversion of digital currencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Dash, Dogecoin and Tether. According to quoted estimates, the platform received total assets worth 2.1 billion euros.
"While the conversion of crypto assets in Fiat currencies is not illegal, examinations of the cybercriminal operators showed that large amounts of criminal assets ran over the platform," said the agency and emphasized:
The analysis showed that about 46 % of the assets exchanged over Bitzlato had connections to criminal activities.
The majority of suspicious transactions were associated with facilities that were sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Ministry of Justice, the rest of the time in connection with various crimes, including fraud and ransomware attacks.
according to Europol 1.5 million bitcoin transactions were carried out between Bitzlato users and the Darknet marketplace Hydra, which was closed in April 2022. On January 18, the U.S. Cryptocrimity ”, which was carried out by an“ international action to enforce cryptocurrencies ”.
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