• An investigation into digital asset exchanges in Moscow has found that some of them are ready to buy digital coins and deliver paper money in the U.K. without following KYC or AML procedures;
• Eight crypto exchanges were willing to exchange tether (USDT) for British pounds and deliver the cash to a recipient in London;
• The average monthly amount of money transferred through these wallets is estimated to be between $420,000 and $470,000.
Russian Crypto Exchanges Ready to Send Cash to London
An investigation into digital asset exchanges in the Russian capital has established that some of them are ready to buy digital coins and deliver paper money in the U.K. without following know-your-customer (KYC) procedures and anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. Transparency International Russia revealed this information in a report published on Wednesday.
Moscow City Crypto Exchange Study
The researchers identified more than 20 coin trading platforms operating from Moscow International Business Center, commonly referred to as Moscow City. Through conversations with operators, they also found that eight of them were ready to exchange U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins for British pounds and hand over the cash to recipients in London without verifying their identities or conducting anti-money laundering checks.
Money Transfer Process
First, customers need to transfer an amount of tether (USDT) to a wallet address provided by the exchange. Once the payment is confirmed, the operator dispatches a courier who delivers fiat cash at a specified location in London on the same or following day.
Unexpected Money Flows
The authors noted that one of these platforms is Suex – a crypto broker blacklisted by OFAC for facilitating ransomware-linked transactions – which sent significant amounts of money abroad using Garantex, another blacklisted exchange located in Moscow City. According to Transparency’s analysis, an average monthly amount transferred through such wallets ranges between $420,000 and $470,000 USDT equivalents.
Conclusion
U .K anti-money laundering regulations require cryptocurrency exchanges registered with customer due diligence checks before any funds can be transferred abroad but none of these Russian platforms asked for identification or verification processes when transferring large sums across international borders thus posing a threat for financial security both domestically and internationally