US Justice Department Charges Crypto Exchange Bitzlato with Laundering $700M, Arrests Its Founder

Crypto exchange Bitzlato was charged with laundering $700m, and its founder Anatoly Legkodymov was arrested in Miami, officials at the US Justice Department said at a press conference on Wednesday.

The Justice Department took coordinated enforcement actions with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, French authorities and the US Treasury Department against Bitzlato. The officials said the Hong Kong-based exchange offered peer-to-peer services and hosted wallets of criminals buying and selling illegal goods. The Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) said Bitzlato played a key role in handling illicit transactions for ransomware actors in Russia, including those connected to the Russian government.

The action against Bitzlato was the most significant one the US took against a crypto criminal network to date, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said.