U.S. Department of Justice has arrested crypto exchange Bitzlato co-founder Anatoly Legkodymov for allegedly illegally handling $700 million in funds

The U.S. Department of Justice has arrested Anatoly Legkodymov, the majority shareholder and co-founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato, in Miami and accused it of handling $700 million in illegal funds, including allegedly operating a remittance business that did not comply with anti-money laundering requirements and transferred illegal funds, Officially designating Bitzlato as a major money laundering party linked to Russian illicit finance, stating that "the operation targeting Russian cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato marks the most significant operation to date involving the country's cryptocurrency law enforcement team". The U.S. Department of Justice stated that Bitzlato was registered in Hong Kong and cooperated with the anonymous online market Hydra Market to provide narcotics, stolen financial information, fraudulent identity documents and money laundering services. Hydra users exchanged more than $700 million in cryptocurrencies with Bitzlato until It was closed last year. In addition, the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and French authorities are taking simultaneous enforcement actions in the case.