Shuttered Crypto Exchange Bitzlato Opens Withdrawals For Users
In addition to the recent closure of some banks, regulators shut down a cryptocurrency company that was allegedly conducting illegal business. bitzlato and its founder felt the power of the US Department of Justice when it shut down the exchange for allegedly processing illegal transactions worth more than $700 million.
However, in a recent development, users of the frozen cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato were finally able to access half of their BTC funds trapped on the exchange over the past two months.
Bitzlato restores access to customers
Bitzlato crypto exchange restored access for your customers to withdraw their Bitcoins from the platform. The exchange relayed the message through Telegram with a directive that users can only access 50% of their frozen funds on the platform.
Additionally, they must use the Telegram bot ‘bz_phoenix_bot’ as highlighted in the message to access their funds. This involves moving the funds to an external wallet or other cryptocurrency exchange.
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Furthermore, Bitzlato encouraged users to click on the ‘Support Bitzlato’ button during the processing of their withdrawals. This will help the exchange team restore justice and recover the remaining half of all assets.
While some users confirmed the withdrawal of their shares, some opted to transfer to other exchanges like Bybit. However, some users keep the funds on Bitzlato, hoping the platform will get cryptocurrency trading done by April of this year.
All withdrawals from Bitzlato are in BTC, as the exchange converted all of its altcoin holdings to Bitcoin when the DOJ shut down the platform.
Bitzlato involved in illegal cryptocurrency transactions and money laundering
In January of this year, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) shut down cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato for engaging in illegal activities. according to your release releasedDOJ mentioned that the exchange operated an unlicensed money transmission business.
The exchange allegedly facilitated the transfer of illegally obtained cryptocurrencies worth more than $700 million, in defiance of US regulatory rules, most notably anti-money laundering (AML) requirements. Their illicit activities would have taken place between 2018 and 2022.
Additionally, the statement cited that the exchange assisted in some ransomware attacks as a platform for remittance of funds. Received over $15 million siphoned off through ransomware attacks.
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Unlike other exchanges, US authorities noted that Bitzlato maintained minimum user identification and documentation requirements. Subsequently, the platform attracted more criminals and fraudsters in numerous illicit transactions.
Furthermore, Bitzlato is believed to have a connection to the Russian market Hydra through various cryptographic transactions. Hydra Market is an illegal online darknet marketplace for stolen financial information, narcotics, money laundering, fraudulent ID documents, etc.
The exchange has been accused of engaging users to prosecute illicit funds from the Hydra Market, which was shut down in April 2022 through the joint efforts of US and German law enforcement agencies.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested Bitzlato founder Anatoly Legkodymov to answer for financial crimes allegedly committed through his exchange.
Featured image from Pexels and chart from Tradingview.com