Police Raid 15 Crypto Exchange Offices in Moscow City, Detain Staff, and Seize Over Roubles 10 Million

Russian law enforcement carried out one of the largest recent operations against offline crypto exchange offices in Moscow City, hitting 15 companies across different towers. For high-risk payment businesses, the important part is not the theatrics: this is another sign that cash-out and crypto-fiat exchange rails are being squeezed ahead of a regulated market expected on 1 September.

1. Police reportedly raided 15 offline crypto exchange offices spread across Moscow City towers. In several offices, they detained all staff on site, including cashiers, secretaries, and office managers, and took the employees to the central office of the Investigative Committee of Russia (СКР).
2. The detainees are expected to face charges under Articles 172 and 210 of the Russian Criminal Code, which the source says carry up to 15 years in prison.
3. The raids followed two earlier waves of crackdowns on crypto exchange offices in Moscow City and at Gorbushka. In the Gorbushka operation, at least two employees connected to illegal crypto exchange were detained.
4. Authorities seized more than Roubles 10 million, information storage devices, and black accounting records. For anyone running a cash-heavy or crypto-linked payment flow, that is the part that matters: records, devices, and staff movements are all being treated as evidence, not just the money itself.
5. According to the source, the broader campaign is aimed less at exchange offices as a business model and more at blocking money out of Russia. It also says authorities are preparing to clear the field before a regulated market starts on 1 September, pushing crypto activity into the white segment.

One practical takeaway for PSPs and crypto-facing operators: in this environment, offline exchange infrastructure in Russia is not just a compliance problem, it is an enforcement target. The source also quotes industry experts advising exchangers to slow down and obtain passports from other countries, which is their way of saying that local exposure is becoming harder to defend.