The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced the closure of the Bitzlato cryptocurrency exchange, along with the FBI’s arrest of the exchange’s owner, Anatoly Legkodymov. In a live stream hosted on Jan. 18, law enforcement office representatives revealed that the Hong Kong-based exchange was allegedly part of a large illicit cryptocurrency network designed to evade sanctions, launder money, and hide crime.
“Legkodymov operated Bitzlato as a high-tech financial center that, in his own words, catered to ‘known criminals,'” the DOJ declaration read “Bitzlato failed to implement the safeguards required by US law, safeguards that allow authorities to detect and investigate financial crimes.”
NEWSLETTER
