Russian, Belarusian Police Raid ‘Money-laundering Crypto Exchange’

Police in Russia and Belarus have made 60 arrests in a raid on a crypto exchange they claim was a front for a money-laundering gang.

The state-run news agency TASS reported that the Russian and Belarusian security “detained about 60 people.”

‘Money-laundering Crypto Exchange Stole Money from Russians, Belarusians’ – Ministry

Officers say the “international criminal group” had “stolen money under the pretext of offering crypto trading.”

They claimed the group also pretended to “sell commodities and foreign exchange currencies.”

Per a statement from Irina Volk, a Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs official, detectives said the gang was “stealing money from citizens of our two countries.”

Volk said that Russian and Belarusian operatives and investigators conducted “about 80 raids” in the Moscow region and the Belarusian capital Minsk.

The ministry released footage from some of the raids, showing officers entering a number of private houses.

Volk explained that the group operated five “call centers” in Minsk. Officers raided these addresses, seizing “computer equipment, mobile devices, accounting documentation, and access to cloud storage.”

She added that one of the alleged masterminds and “two of his accomplices” were detained in the Moscow region.

During a raid on the suspected mastermind’s residence and offices, police seized over 8 million rubles (worth $88,900), as well as about 23 million rubles ($255,560) worth of foreign currency, and 30 “units of computer equipment.”

Russian Crypto Exchanges Still Unregulated

The ministry says its Investigative Department will handle the case in Russia. In Belarus, the nation’s Investigative Committee says it will launch a fraud-related criminal case against the suspects.

Russian police have claimed that crypto-related crime is on the rise, with Belarusian officials making similar claims in recent months.

Security officials have also arrested several people in Russia, accusing them of using crypto as a remittance tool to send funds to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Russian prosecutors said they had designated The Clooney Foundation for Justice, a US non-profit group, as an ‘undesirable’ organization for carrying out work at ‘a Hollywood scale’ to discredit Moscow https://t.co/JYmVwM6Cfo

— Reuters (@Reuters) August 19, 2024

Crypto exchanges remain entirely unregulated in Russia. However, many top government officials have urged Moscow to launch a state-run exchange that could help industrial miners and international trade firms swap coins for fiat.