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Europol has strengthened its understanding of troubled foreign exchange bitzlato with substantial crypto assets seized.
The European Union Agency for Police Cooperation (euro pol) has recently reached another important milestone in the crackdown on Bitzlato. According to Europol, a recent sting operation across Europe and the US resulted in the seizure of more than $19 million in digital currencies. The EU police agency also stated that the joint operation led to the arrest of five people related to Bitzlato. Among these individuals is the embattled crypto exchange’s founder Anatoly Legkodymov who was arrested in Miami last week
Europol also revealed that authorities froze more than 100 accounts at other crypto exchanges that controlled 50 million euros. Moreover, the American authorities attempted to seize Bitzlato's servers for allegedly aiding and abetting illegal Russian finance.
In addition to taking over crypto portfolios containing 19.5 million dollars, europol also gave an overview of the suspicious transactions of bitzlato. The government agency claimed that about 46% of the goods ($1.09 billion) that were traded were related to illicit activities. According to a europol analysis, bitzlato received more than €2.1 billion in crypto, like bitcoin (), dash (dash), and dogecoin (). Euro pol added that the besieged crypto company has converted a large part of these dubious funds into Russian roubles.
Commenting on the development of Bitzlato's crypto assets, Europol declared:
'Although converting crypto-assets to fiduciary currencies is not illegal, investigations of cybercriminal operators have indicated that large volumes of criminal assets are transiting through the platform. Most suspicious transactions are related to entities sanctioned by the Foreign Asset Control Office (FOCA), and other cyber scams, money laundering, ransomware, materials for child abuse."
The most recent development of euro pol follows the arrest of Bitzlato last week.
The FBI detained Legkodymov Tuesday night in Miami for allegedly laundering about 700 million dollars. The arrest of Bitzlato's founder was part of the Ministry of Justice's broader plans to overthrow a highly publicized money laundering union.
At the time of Legkodymov’s arrest, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said:
“Overnight, the department worked with key partners here and abroad to disrupt Bitzlato, the China-based money laundering engine that fueled a high-tech axis of cryptocrime.”
Furthermore, Monaco suggested the long arm of the United States government's financial compliance laws. She said that wherever the offenders are, they would always be responsible for their crimes in the United States.
Monaco also said the arrest of Legkodymov would arrest Bitzlato for serving Russian-related criminals. Cryptographic exchange has effectively stopped as a result of the capture of its founder in us.
The Department of Justice reported that legkodymov was running a money transfer company that was violating anti-money laundering requirements. In addition, the Federal Department of Law Enforcement alleges that the Russian crypto boss moved money related to illegal Russia.
After he was captured, legkodymov appeared before our district court for the South Florida District on January 18. However, it is not clear what burdens its partners bitzlato could face in Europe.
Prior to Legkodymov's arrest, he lived in China.
