Russian FSB raids and shuts down nine illegal crypto exchanges in Moscow, over 20 people arrested

According to Cointelegraph, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), in conjunction with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, raided nine unregistered cryptocurrency exchanges within the Moscow International Business Center (Moscow City), arresting over 20 employees. The FSB accused the aforementioned exchanges of acting as money laundering channels, converting funds from victims of Russian phone scams into cryptocurrency and transferring them to accounts related to scam call centers within Ukraine. Investigations revealed that some couriers aged 18 to 25 were responsible for collecting cash from victims and delivering it to the exchanges for crypto conversion; the young people involved mostly came from various regions of Russia and lacked financial knowledge. Currently, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs has launched a criminal investigation into large-scale fraud, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment under Russian law. The FSB stated that the case is still ongoing, with further identification of victims and assessment of compensation plans underway.