Russian Charged by US With Running $700 Million Crypto Scheme

A Russian national was charged with money laundering through a cryptocurrency exchange that allegedly masked the proceeds of illegal gambling and drug deals valued at more than $700 million, as the US goes after criminal suspects in the digital space.

Anatoly Legkodymov, founder of the crypto exchange Bitzlato, was arrested Tuesday in Miami, the Justice Department said at a press conference Wednesday. Hong Kong-registered Bitzlato was a “critical financial resource” for the Hydra dark web market, the largest and longest-running such marketplace, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said at the conference. The dark web traffics in illicit goods and services. ...