Anatoly Legkodymov, co-founder and main shareholder of Bitzlato, a cryptocurrency exchange in Hong Kong, has admitted his guilt in federal court in Brooklyn.
The indictment centers on the operation of an illegal money transmission business, facilitating the transportation and transfer of illicit funds.
According to the statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of New York, Legkodymov allowed lax control measures at Bitzlato.
This made it possible for users to provide false identity information, making the platform a haven for Hydra Market, an online marketplace that handled more than $700 million related to narcotics, money laundering, stolen financial information, and fraudulent identity documents.
Legkodymov’s plea deal involves the dissolution of Bitzlato and the forfeiture of $23 million in confiscated assets from the platform.
Lisa O. Monaco, Deputy Attorney General of New York, highlighted the joint action to dismantle the criminal ecosystem of cryptocurrencies.
In January, the Department shut down Bitzlato’s infrastructure and confiscated its digital assets.
LEGKODYMOV’S CONVICTION
The statement underlines the international collaboration between the US, the Cyber Division of the Paris Prosecutor’s Office and the Cyberspace Command of the French National Gendarmerie in this case.
This legal action represents a significant blow against criminal operations within the cryptocurrency space, money laundering and online criminal activities.
Despite this, the authorities often take advantage of these types of cases, which are nothing more than exceptions within the general cryptocurrency ecosystem, to attack an entire community. Let’s remember that the crypto space must remain independent and free of any regulation in order to develop and generate huge benefits such as financial freedom for everyone.
