Varkala: Kerala Police arrested an international criminal wanted by the United States of America (USA) on Thursday. Aleksej Besiokov (46), a Lithuanian national and a criminal on whom an Interpol Red Corner Notice has been issued, was arrested in Varkala. He is the co-founder of a cryptocurrency exchange called Garantex, police said.
The main charge against him is that he helped criminal gangs and cybercriminals launder millions of dollars in illegal money. Besiokov was declared a fugitive by the US Department of Justice (DOJ). A case has also been filed against a Russian national named Alexander Mira Serda (40), one of the co-founders of Garantex, for a similar charge. He is reportedly in the United Arab Emirates, POLICE officials said.
Besiokov, who had come to Varkala to spend a holiday with his family, was taken into custody from his homestay. He was planning to leave the country and was arrested by the Kerala Police with the help of the Central Bureau of Investigation's Interpol unit. The Ministry of External Affairs intervened in the case on the request of the US, police officials added.
Subsequently, the Patiala House Court in Delhi issued an arrest warrant against Alex. He was caught in a joint operation by Interpol, CBI and Kerala Police. The Kerala Police will produce the accused in the Patiala House Court and then extradite him to the US.
Cases Against Alex
According to US court documents, Aleksej Besiokov and Alexander Mira Serda allegedly ran a crypto exchange called Garantex between 2019 and 2025. It is alleged they acted as a money laundering platform for criminal groups, including terrorists. Since April 2019, Garantex has processed at least $96 billion in cryptocurrency transactions. Garantex has generated billions of dollars in revenue by facilitating various crimes, including hacking, terrorism, and drug trafficking. On March 6, 2025, a Virginia court took action against three website domains supporting Garantex. The US Secret Service issued an order to seize them.
The servers hosting Garantex's activities were seized with the cooperation of Germany and Finland. US agencies have also frozen over $26 million in Garantex's funds. Both men are charged with a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
