Thiruvananthapuram: Aleksej Besciokov, a Lithuanian national who was wanted by US authorities for money laundering through a cryptocurrency exchange and arrested by the Kerala police along with the Central Bureau of Investigation will be extradited to the US on a priority basis, sources here said Friday.
The 46-year-old Besciokov was arrested in Varkala near here where he was vacationing with his family. Sources said it was unclear why he was in Kerala, but indicated that he was planning to flee the country soon before the US alerted their Indian counterparts.
Besciokov is alleged to have set up Garantex, a cryptocurrency exchange, allegedly to launder billions of dollars earned through criminal activity. The money was linked to the sale of drugs, ransomware and computer hacking.
A press release from the US Department of Justice said, “Garantex received hundreds of millions in criminal proceeds and was used to facilitate various crimes, including hacking, ransomware, terrorism and drug trafficking, often with substantial impact to US victims.”
According to the CBI’s statement, a request was submitted by the US to India’s Ministry of External Affairs. Subsequently, a provisional arrest warrant was issued against Besciokov from ACJM Patiala House Court in Delhi. The CBI then coordinated with the Kerala Police for the arrest of the fugitive criminal.
He will be produced before the Patiala House Court by the Kerala Police shortly.
Besciokov is said to have operated under the hacker handle “proforg,” a nickname associated with a long-running Russian-language forum known for its explicit content.
