WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th January, 2023) The US authorities have arrested in Miami Russian national and head of the Bitzlato cryptocurrency exchange Anatoly Legkodymov, the Justice Department said in a statement on Wednesday.
"A complaint was unsealed this morning in Federal court in Brooklyn charging Anatoly Legkodymov, a Russian national and senior executive of Bitzlato Ltd. (Bitzlato), a Hong Kong-registered cryptocurrency exchange, with conducting a money transmitting business that transported and transmitted illicit funds and that failed to meet US regulatory safeguards, including anti-money laundering requirements," the statement said. Legkodymov was arrested last night in Miami and is scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida."
Bitzlato became a haven for criminal proceeds and funds intended for use in criminal activity given that it did not require identifying information from users, the statement said.
The US authorities pointed out that Bitzlato's major partner, Hydra Market, is the largest and longest-running darknet market in the world, the statement said.
"Hydra Market users exchanged more than $700 million in cryptocurrency with Bitzlato, either directly or through intermediaries, until Hydra Market was shuttered by US and German law enforcement in April 2022. Bitzlato also received more than $15 million in ransomware proceeds," the statement added.
If convicted, Legkodymov faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, according to the statement.
