Anatoly Legkodymov, the founder of Bitzlato Crypto, is accused of $700 million worth of financial offences

Authorities have detained the co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato and seized the company's assets after charging it with supporting a "high-tech axis of cyber-crime."

 Russian national Anatoly Legkodymov, who now resides in China, was accused by the US Department of Justice of operating a company that catered to clients he once referred to as "crooks." They claimed Bitzlato broke laws intended to prevent money laundering by processing more than $700 million in illegal funds. In Miami, Mr. Legkodymov was detained.

At a press conference on Wednesday to announce the arrest, US Attorney Breon Peace stated that bitcoin trading institutions and their owners were not exempt from the law. According to the complaint, the Hong Kong-registered exchange had handled nearly $4.5 billion in cryptocurrency transactions since 2018.

 The company, according to the police, was closely associated with Hydra Bazaar, a darknet market for drugs, money laundering, and stolen financial data that was shut down by international authorities last year. Prosecutors alleged Bitzlato had significant business with Americans despite its assertion that company did not accept US consumers. On the operation, US law enforcement collaborated with law enforcement in France and other nations.