Cryptocurrency
Crypto Exchange Founder Spared Jail Time for Processing Illicit Proceeds
Friday. July 19 at 4:00 PM
1 min. readThe founder of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato has reportedly avoided additional jail time after his platform handled over $700 million in illegal funds from the Russian dark web. In a New York District Court, Anatoly Legkodymoc was sentenced to time served for operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. Judge Eric Vitaliano deemed the 18 months Legkodymov spent in detention sufficient punishment. FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who also faced legal issues, served time in the same facility. Legkodymov relinquished any claim to $23 million in seized crypto assets. Prosecutors accused him of facilitating over $700 million in crypto transactions on the dark web black market Hydra Market without proper oversight. Legkodymov admitted to shortcomings and regretted his actions. The international effort that led to his arrest involved multiple countries and Europol, revealing that a significant portion of Bitzlato's processed assets were tied to illicit activities.