Russian Authorities recently arrested the co-founder and chief executive of cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato, which is believed to have processed hundreds of thousands of US {dollars} worth of illegal funds. Anton Shkurenko, who was interrogated in Moscow, denies the charges against him, and his temporary detention was a result of the investigation.
Shkurenko Believes There is a Case Against Him, But Russia Won’t Interfere with Bitzlato’s Relaunch
Russian Prosecutors have asked France to submit material from its investigation into the seized digital asset exchange Bitzlato to determine if further proceedings should be opened in Russia, the platform’s co-founder, Anton Shkurenko revealed to crypto media.
The global police operation last month focused on trading platforms. French Authorities shut down the website and handed control of its servers to its other co-founders and majority owners, Anatoly Legkodymov, who was arrested in Miami.
At the time, the US mentioned the Hong Kong-registered Bitzlato, best known in Russia, between 2018 and 2022, $700 million in transactions were seized by merchants. Europol detained four employees and believes the exchange has been involved in $1 billion in transactions. A lot of the transfers came from legal entities such as the darknet marketplace Hydra and the Finiko crypto-pyramid.
Shkurenko stated that on February 7, he was approached from behind by officers in Moscow and was asked to present his documents. He was told by the clerk that he was on Interpol’s list and was required to fill out a form, after which he was arrested. He was then taken to the Tver Interdistrict Prosecutor’s Office, the location where he was interrogated.
“According to my explanation, the prosecutor issued a non-arrest order and I was released,” Shkurenko told crypto media outlet Forklog. It was noted that France suspects him of 19 misdemeanors, without further explanation.
“What this means in terms of Russian justice, I still do not understand. Russia does not extradite its citizens,” He also mentioned that prosecutors want to analyze the documents received from France to see if a separate case should be opened within the Russian Federation.
Anton Shkurenko once again stated that he rejects all charges against him. In an interview last week, he explained that he had proposed the idea of Bitzlato relaunching operations from Russia. The possible threat of a Russian prosecution now guarantees that no legal matters can interfere with these plans.
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