Russia-linked crypto kingpin on US wanted list arrested on family holiday

Source: The Telegraph

Aleksej Besciokov, apprehended in India, is accused of processing $96 billion since April 2019, including funds linked to ransomware groups

A Russian-linked crypto kingpin on the US wanted list has been arrested in India while on a family holiday, authorities said.

Aleksej Besciokov, 46, was apprehended on Tuesday evening in the coastal town of Varkala in the south Indian state of Kerala. Police initially said he looked panicked and tried to bargain his way out of the situation.

Besciokov, a cryptocurrency exchange administrator, is accused of processing $96 billion since April 2019, including funds linked to ransomware groups such as Black Basta, Play, and Conti, according to US Secret Service documents and India’s Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI).

The US Department of Justice said the proceeds from these transactions were used to facilitate hacking, ransomware attacks, and fund terrorism and drug trafficking.

Read more: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2025/03/13/russia-linked-crypto-kingpin-us-wanted-list-arrested-india/

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Besciokov is expected to be extradited to appear before the US District Court for the Eastern District Court of Virginia on charges of sanctions violations, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Power Act and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business. If so, it will be the first time a Russian-linked suspect has been extradited from India to the US.