Kochi: Lithuanian national Aleksej Besciokov, who faces serious charges of laundering the proceeds of unlawful activities like hacking, narcotics distribution and ransomware in the US, had never expected that he would end up in the hands of a small group of police personnel in a corner of Kerala, in the southern tip of India. The Kerala police arrested him from a homestay at the coastal town of Varkala in Thiruvananthapuram, where he was vacationing with his family on Tuesday night.

Besciokov was nabbed by the state police in a coordinated effort with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). From 2019 to 2025, Besciokov allegedly "controlled and operated" Garantex, which facilitated money laundering to the tune of at least $96 billion in cryptocurrency transactions by transnational criminal organisations, including terrorist organisations, according to US Secret Service documents.

A team of police from Varkala station zeroed in on the high-profile scammer acting upon a provisional arrest warrant issued against him on March 10 by the ACJM Patiala House Court in Delhi. The Ministry of External Affairs got the warrant issued by the court under the Extradition Act, 1962, based on a request submitted by the USA.

The CBI, in a statement, said Besciokov was arrested when he was allegedly plotting to escape from the country. The police team had received intelligence that Besciokov was staying at a hotel in Varkala. When they reached there, he was, however, not there.

''Our team continued the search for him in other places in the area and eventually located him in a homestay. Though he made all attempts to resist the arrest, he could not escape the police,'' S Ajeetha Begum, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Thiruvananthapuram Range, told Onmanorama.

The officer said Besciokov was not expecting the local police to reach him. He even tried to bribe the cops, but in vain. Besciokov was staying at Varkala since February and there were five people with him, including his wife and two daughters in their 20s. He had made trips to Delhi before but it was apparently his first visit to Varkala, the police officer said.

DIG Begum said the local police rarely get to act on extradition cases from other countries, especially the US, and the cops’ diligent action led to the "big catch." The cops involved in the action include Inspector Dipin V G, Civil Police Officers Rakesh R Nair, Jogin Raj, and Sujith D. DIG Begum and Rural SP K S Sudharshan coordinated the operation.

Besciokov was produced before a local court and sent to the Thiruvananathapuram sub-jail on Thursday. He will be handed over to the CBI in a couple of days, and the US law enforcers will take him into custody.

Besciokov is wanted for facing trial before the United States District Court for the Eastern District Court of Virginia. Citing the Secret Service, PTI reported that Besciokov is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

He is also charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in person, and with conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

''Garantex received hundreds of millions in criminal proceeds and was used to facilitate various crimes, including hacking, ransomware, terrorism, and drug trafficking, often with substantial impact to US victims," the document said. It said Besciokov was Garantex's primary technical administrator and responsible for obtaining and maintaining the critical infrastructure of the platform as well as reviewing and approving transactions.

The US Secret Service executed a seizure order on March 6 authorised by a judge in the Eastern District of Virginia against three website domain names used to support Garantex's operations to prevent these sites from being used for money laundering and additional crimes. The US authorities also froze over $26 million in funds as part of the action.