Searches at Moscow’s Gorbushka mall were tied to illegal crypto exchanges used for outbound funds

Russian security forces raided offices in the Gorbushka trading complex in Moscow after linking the site to illegal crypto exchanges. According to Коммерсантъ, those exchanges were being used to move money out of Russia, including by Ukrainian call centers connected to phone fraud.

1. Search and operational measures at the Gorbushka trading complex in Moscow began last Thursday and continued through the following day. According to the report, the operation involved the FSB, the Interior Ministry, and Rosgvardiya.
2. On August 13 at around 7 p.m., several minibuses arrived at the old brick building at Bagrationovsky Proezd, 7, where offices and warehouse spaces are now located. The shopping complex itself sits in a neighboring building. People in plain clothes got out, accompanied by armed officers in balaclavas.
3. The target was offices on the sixth floor leased by illegal crypto exchanges. The report says these exchanges are one of the main channels used to move funds out of the country, including by Ukrainian call centers through which phone scammers steal money from Russian victims.
4. During the searches, officers seized more than 10 mln rubles, black bookkeeping records, and electronic storage devices. At least two employees of the illegal crypto exchanges were detained during the operation.

For PSPs and acquiring teams, the important detail is not the mall itself. It is the infrastructure: retail-facing cash-in, off-book conversion, and cash-out operations that can sit inside ordinary commercial premises until law enforcement decides to look more closely.