FSB Raids Crypto Exchanges in Moscow's Business District, Arrests Over 20

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) announced Friday that a series of raids led to the arrest of more than 20 people. The operation targeted illegal cryptocurrency exchange points operating out of offices in the Moscow City financial district.

Working alongside the Interior Ministry, the FSB inspected nine unauthorized financial channels it accuses of laundering money stolen from Russian citizens by phone scammers. According to the FSB, scam call centers based in Ukraine used these gray-market exchange offices to convert stolen funds into cryptocurrency and move the money out of Russia.

Millions moved daily

In a video released by state media, one detained individual claimed that up to $2 million was laundered through their office in a single day. Some of those arrested said on camera that they believed they were working as undercover informants for either the FSB or Russia's financial monitoring agency, Rosfinmonitoring.

The FSB said that young people from Russia's regions seeking easy money, often with little financial literacy, are recruited remotely to work at these exchange points. Among those detained were people aged 18 to 25 who served as couriers, collecting cash from fraud victims and delivering it to the exchanges.

Russia's Interior Ministry has opened a criminal case for large-scale fraud, a charge that carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years. The FSB said it is continuing to identify victims in order to gather evidence and potentially recover the losses.