According to a Feb. 2 report by Turkish information agency Anadolu, Spanish authorities have detained the CEO of Hong Kong cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato, as well a sales exec and itsmarketing supervisor. In overall, 6 Russian and also Ukrainian nationals related to the exchange were jailed in a joint effort between France, Portugal, Cyprus and United States police.
Accordingto Spanish cops, the exchange’s anonymity permitted it to become the platform of choice for criminal companies looking for to wash cash by means of cryptocurrency. Authorities confiscated 18 million euros ($19.8 million) in digital assets, luxury autos, money, smartphones and also various other products related to the investigation and also obstructed over 100 exchange accounts.The move comes
simply two days after co-founder Anton Shkurenko stated in a meeting that 50% of the Bitcoin (BTC) held in Bitzlato wallets might be withdrawn when the exchange relaunches, after private investigators took roughly 35% of individuals’ funds kept in the exchange’s hot purses. Regarding this, Shkruenko stated that the brand-new Bitzlato will certainly be based in Russia and also “out of reach of law enforcement authorities.”
Related: Bitzlato maintained a reduced account, however did not go entirely undetected before DOJ activity
On Jan. 18, the U.S. Department of Justice introduced an enforcement action against Bitzlato, alleging that a lack of Know Your Customer and also Anti-Money Laundering conformity aided cybercriminals launder over $700 million via the Bitzlato exchange. The same day, Bitzlato websites were closed down, with a section of exchange funds taken by cops. Its co-founder, Anatoly Legkodymov, a Russian national and also citizen of China, was jailed in Miami around the same day.
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