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Founder and Majority Owner of Cryptocurrency Exchange Charged with Processing Over $700 Million of Illicit Funds.
"Today the Department of Justice dealt a significant blow to the cryptocrime ecosystem. 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, and to arrest its founder, Russian national Anatoly Legkodymov. Today's actions send the clear message: whether you break our laws from China or Europe – or abuse our financial system from a tropical island – you can expect to answer for your crimes inside a United States courtroom." -Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco
"As alleged, the defendant helped operate a cryptocurrency exchange that failed to implement required anti-money laundering safeguards and enabled criminals to profit from their wrongdoing, including ransomware and drug trafficking. The National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team's tremendous efforts to disrupt Bitzlato and arrest the defendant demonstrate that we will continue to work with our partners – both foreign and domestic – to combat cryptocurrency-fueled crimes, even if they transcend international borders." -Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department's Criminal Division
"Institutions that trade in cryptocurrency are not above the law and their owners are not beyond our reach. As alleged, Bitzlato sold itself to criminals as a no-questions-asked cryptocurrency exchange, and reaped hundreds of millions of dollars worth of deposits as a result. The defendant is now paying the price for the malign role that his company played in the cryptocurrency ecosystem." -U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York
"The FBI will continue to pursue actors who attempt to mask their criminal activity behind keyboards and use means such as cryptocurrency to evade law enforcement. We, along with our federal and international partners, will work relentlessly to disrupt and dismantle these types of criminal enterprises. Today's arrest should serve as a reminder the FBI will impose risk and consequences upon those who engage in these activities." -Associate Deputy Director Brian Turner of the FBI
The founder and majority owner of a cryptocurrency exchange, Bitzlato Ltd. (Bitzlato), was arrested on January 17th, 2023 in Miami for his alleged operation of a money transmitting business that transported and transmitted illicit funds and that failed to meet U.S. regulatory safeguards, including anti-money laundering requirements. Anatoly Legkodymov, 40, a Russian national who resides in Shenzhen, People's Republic of China, was then arraigned in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. French authorities and the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) took concurrent enforcement actions.
Updated January 20, 2025
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