Russian citizen Anatoly Legkodymov (Gandalf), owner of the Bitzlato Ltd crypto exchange. (Bitzlato), was arrested last night in Miami

He is scheduled to appear in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida this afternoon.

According to investigators, Legkodymov helped run a cryptocurrency exchange that allowed criminals to profit from their crimes, including ransomware and drug trafficking.

Bitzlato’s largest counterparty in cryptocurrency transactions was Hydra Market, an anonymous illegal online marketplace for drugs, stolen financial information, forged identity documents, and money laundering services, which was the largest and oldest darknet marketplace in the world. Hydra Market users exchanged over $700 million in cryptocurrencies with Bitzlato either directly or through intermediaries until Hydra Market was shut down by US and German law enforcement in April 2022.

Bitzlato also received over $15 million in ransomware revenue.