Georgian authorities have arrested five Russian nationals involved in a suspected wide-reaching illegal scheme using cryptocurrency.
The charges, including money laundering, were announced on Thursday by Guga Tavberidze, deputy head of the Finance Ministry’s Investigative Service.
Tavberidze said an unnamed company ‘had been providing crypto asset services without proper registration or authorisation from the National Bank of Georgia’ via an unregistered office. The company was also acting as a ‘courier service’, involved in the unregulated international trade of ‘hundreds of millions of lari’ — ₾100 million is equivalent to around $37 million.
‘The investigation also found that Russian citizens had allegedly been bringing large amounts of foreign currency into Georgia by car, apparently bypassing border controls, to purchase virtual assets and then legalise illicit funds’, Tavberidze said.
Crucially, he added that despite the significant amount of money changing hands, neither the company nor the individuals were paying taxes to the Georgian government.
Following a search of the office and vehicles that reportedly belonged to the individuals — which had Russian license plates — Georgian authorities confiscated $721,000 in cash, accounting documents, and computers.
Tavberidze said the investigation is ongoing, as other individuals are suspected to be involved.
If convicted, the individuals could face up to 12 years in prison.
OC Media
