Bitzlato ex-CEO Legkodymov pleads guilty to 1 count in Brooklyn court
The Hong Kong-based crypto exchange had no KYC and was a major support for the darknet marketplace Hydra.
Anatoly Legkodymov, co-founder and former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato, pleaded guilty to one count of operating an unlicensed money services business on Dec. 6. Legkodymov appeared in New York Eastern District Court in Brooklyn before Judge Eric Vitaliano.
In court, Legkodymov agreed to dissolve Bitzlato and forfeit $23 million in cryptocurrency. He had filed a criminal cause for pleading, which is understood to indicate the intention of entering a guilty plea. Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said:
Legkodymov was arrested in Miami on Jan. 17, 2023 during a coordinated international effort to take the exchange down. Its website was blocked by France the same day. According to the United States Department of Justice, Spain, Portugal and Cyprus, along with the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol), also took part in the operation against it.
