Bitzlato founder Anatoly Legkodimov was arrested in Miami

Bitzlato founder and majority owner Anatoly Legkodimov has been arrested for money laundering. According to reports issued by the US Department of Justice.

Anatoly Legkodymov’s cryptocurrency exchange allegedly engaged in illicit activities and failed to meet legal requirements to combat crime.

Bitzlato Exchange allegedly linked to illegal activities

The US Department of Justice released a report on the arrest of Anatoly Legkodimov, a Russian national who is the majority shareholder and founder of the Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange. According to the Ministry of Justice, Anatoly Legkodimov’s cryptocurrency exchange allegedly supports criminal activities, including drug trafficking and money laundering schemes.

The exchange is believed to be linked to the Hydra Market, an online illicit drug market that prosecutors believe is linked to criminal activities such as money laundering, drug trafficking, selling illegally acquired financial information and false identities.

The law enforcement officials behind Anatoly Legkodimov’s arrest believed that the founder was fully aware of the exchange’s ties to dark vices. In the document released by the Ministry of Justice, the founder and other senior managers of the exchange had a discussion.

They determined that most of the company’s users were “fraudsters,” referring to drug addicts, drug dealers, and money launderers. In one of the documents pulled from the exchange’s portfolio, a senior executive allegedly stated that the company should only get rid of drug trafficking and let other criminal activities run so as not to hinder the company’s operations.

Anatoly’s trial begins

Anatoly Legkodimov is expected to appear in court today in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

As part of the process of discovering cryptocurrency-related crimes, the Deputy Attorney General of Monaco stated that the US regulators are constantly working with other regulators around the world to bring perpetrators to justice according to the law, regardless of the country or island from which the suspects operate.

The comment was likely referring to the recent FTX debacle that saw Sam Bankman Fred arrested in the Bahamas and charged with fraud and misappropriation of customer deposits.