US charges Garantex admins with money laundering, sanctions violations

The administrators of the Russian Garantex crypto-exchange have been charged in the United States with facilitating money laundering for criminal organizations and violating sanctions. 46-year-old Lithuanian national and Russian resident Aleksej Besciokov and 40-year-old Russian national and United Arab Emirates resident Aleksandr Mira Serda—who controlled Garantex between 2019 and 2025—are charged with money laundering conspiracy which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Besciokov was also charged with conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business (maximum penalty of five years in prison) and violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (maximum penalty of 20 years). "Since April 2019, Garantex has processed at least $96 billion in cryptocurrency transactions," the DOJ said today. Mira Serda served as Garantex's co-founder and chief commercial officer, while Besciokov was Garantex's technical administrator, responsible for securing and s ... Read full article.