The Justice Department has taken action in coordination with Germany and Finland to disrupt the online infrastructure of Garantex, a cryptocurrency exchange accused of facilitating money laundering for transnational criminal organizations, including terrorist groups. Since April 2019, Garantex reportedly processed over $96 billion in cryptocurrency transactions.
An indictment was unsealed in the Eastern District of Virginia against Aleksej Besciokov, a Lithuanian national residing in Russia, and Aleksandr Mira Serda, a Russian national residing in the United Arab Emirates. They face charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Additionally, Besciokov is charged with conspiracy to violate sanctions and operate an unlicensed money transmitting business.
Court documents reveal that from 2019 to 2025, Besciokov and Mira Serda controlled Garantex's operations. The exchange allegedly facilitated various crimes such as hacking, ransomware attacks, terrorism financing, and drug trafficking. Despite knowing about the illegal activities conducted through Garantex, they reportedly concealed these activities on their platform.
In April 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Garantex for its involvement in laundering funds from ransomware actors and darknet markets. Despite this sanctioning, Besciokov and his associates continued transacting with U.S.-based entities by altering operational procedures to evade detection.
On March 6th, U.S. law enforcement executed a seizure order against three domain names associated with Garantex: Garantex.org, Garantex.io, and Garantex.academy. German and Finnish authorities also seized servers hosting the exchange's operations. Over $26 million linked to money laundering activities was frozen by U.S. authorities.
Besciokov and Mira Serda each face one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering with potential penalties of up to 20 years imprisonment for each charge against them. Additional charges against Besciokov could lead to further penalties if convicted.
U.S. Attorney Erik S. Siebert announced these developments alongside other officials from various departments involved in investigating the case.
The Justice Department acknowledges cooperation from international agencies such as Europol and law enforcement bodies across Germany, Finland, Estonia, and the Netherlands in this operation.
Victims who believe their funds were laundered through Garantex can contact law enforcement at GarantexClaimants@secretservice.gov for assistance.
###