Russian police raid crypto exchange offices in Moscow-City over 144 million ruble theft probe

Russian law enforcement carried out a series of raids on crypto exchange offices in the Federation East tower of Moscow-City. For high-risk payment providers, the point is straightforward: investigators say they are tracing whether stolen funds moved through one of the exchanges, and the offices were shut during the searches.

1. Police told Izvestia that the searches were part of an investigation into the theft of 144 million rubles. The alleged victim was a man identified as Vladimir R., who, according to police, received a call from unknown people posing as officers of the Federal Security Service and was persuaded to transfer the money.
2. Investigators believe the stolen funds may have passed through one of the crypto exchanges in Moscow-City. Law enforcement is now trying to trace the transactions and is checking whether employees of the offices in the Federation East tower were involved in those operations, Izvestia reported.
3. Several dozen employees of the exchange network have been detained as part of the case. A Moscow court has already selected preventive measures for eight defendants, while the procedural status of the others has not been disclosed.
4. During the raids, the crypto exchange offices in the Federation East tower stopped operating. That matters operationally: when authorities move from investigation to search and detention, local cash-out and exchange flow can freeze very quickly.
5. Earlier, Russia’s Interior Ministry reported the liquidation of a cryptocurrency exchange point in Moscow-City, saying it operated under the guise of a travel company. In practice, Moscow-City has already appeared on the radar before; this is not the first time the district has been linked to crypto exchange enforcement action.