the russians “Many” Are Using Moscow Crypto Exchanges To Send Tether (USDT) A new report has been claimed for people living in Britain.
per NGO Russia Branch of Transparency International and media outlets bell“Several crypto exchanges” are now “operating” in Moscow, where they are “offering services” that allow Russians to “withdraw cash” to the UK.
The NGO said that with the help of crypto exchanges located in the Moscow International Business Center “it has become possible to transfer money outside Russia”. [aka Moscow-City],
Sanctions and counter-sanctions have placed tight controls on the movement of money between Russia and foreign nations.
But Transparency International Russia said it found “eight Russian-based crypto exchanges that said they were willing to move USDT.” The platforms said they would “convert the tokens into cash for delivery in London.”
NGO wrote:
“In spite of us [requests] to transfer which will result in delivery of over [$12,000] In cash (yes, bags full of cash), there was a clear lack of curiosity from these exchanges about the identity of their customers.
How are Russian crypto exchanges sending cash to the UK?
Transparency International Russia said its undercover agents “were not asked to provide passports or any other type of identification document for the exchange to take place.”
It said the exchanges only asked for “a description of what the collector would wear and possibly the serial number of the banknote to prove his identity.”
The NGO noted that the London-based cash “couriers” were “Russian-speaking”. And it said that the handover details were arranged using chat app Telegram.
One of the exchanges was named Suex, a platform that was hit by US sanctions in 2021. Washington believes that Suex has enabled money laundering on its platform.
The NGO said that failing to request client identification details was “a direct breach of British anti-money laundering laws.”
The NGO said that its researchers were able to trace the history of several crypto wallets linked to the exchanges. And it said it found that some wallets had processed up to $470,000 worth of USDT.
Transparency International Russia wrote that the exchanges processed small amounts of less popular cryptocurrencies.
Earlier this month, the Russian government’s anti-money laundering (AML) agency said it was Monitoring around 25,000 users It is suspected of AML violation.