Russia's FSB Raids Unregistered Crypto Exchanges in Moscow for Money Laundering Tied to Ukraine Scams

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has raided nine unregistered crypto exchange services in Moscow over alleged money laundering involving fraud proceeds that authorities linked to Ukraine-based scam call centers. The agency said it detained more than 20 employees at the Moscow International Business Center (Moscow City) as part of an operation targeting channels allegedly used to move illicit funds abroad through crypto assets, according to an official statement on Friday. The FSB said the exchanges converted money stolen from Russian victims of phone scams into cryptocurrency and transferred it to accounts belonging to what it described as Ukrainian handlers. The operation was carried out jointly by the FSB and Russia’s Interior Ministry. Authorities said some couriers aged 18 to 25 collected cash from victims and delivered it to the exchanges for conversion into crypto. The FSB said young people from Russian regions were recruited to work at the exchanges despite having limited financial literacy. The Interior Ministry launched a criminal investigation into large-scale fraud, an offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison under Russian law. The FSB said it is continuing to identify victims and assess potential compensation.