Bitzlato founder admitted to money laundering

Founder of the Bitzlato crypto exchange platform Anatoly Legkodymov pleaded guilty in the transfer and laundering of criminal funds.

According to prosecutors, the Russian owned a controlling stake in the company, which served as the main conduit for darknet traders and ransomware operators.

As part of the plea agreement, Legkodymov agreed to close Bitzlato and waive any claims amounting to approximately $23 million related to the seized assets of the exchanger.

For the first time, information about a possible deal between the top manager and the investigation appeared in April, but then platform employees called it unreliable.

The prosecutor’s office noted that Bitzlato advertised itself as an exchanger with minimal user identification, and also allowed the registration of accounts for “dummy people.” The team knew about the use of its service by criminals, the prosecution added.

Let us remind you that Anatoly Legkodymov was arrested in Miami on January 17. A day later, the exchanger’s work was suspended.

Subsequently, it became known about the arrest of former executive director Mikhail Lunev, marketing manager Alexander Goncharenko, Monolithos DAO contractor Pavel Lerner and the platform system administrator.

As lawyers later stated, all of the arrested individuals “were not part of the team, but were either contractors or consultants, some of whom were never involved in the main activities of the company.”

In total, the exchange converted approximately €1 billion ($1.08 billion) worth of crime-related assets, including $700 million associated with the darknet marketplace Hydra and $15 million for ransomware operators, according to Europol.