It claims the platforms, which were not identified by name, were used by the operators of a drug market on the dark web, local media revealed on Wednesday.
The latter has been taken down as well, alongside an associated forum where users discussed trading of banned substances through the hidden service.
The platforms employed advanced tech solutions to ensure the anonymity of their clients, according to Irina Volk, official spokesperson of the MVD.
However, commenting further on the results of the recent operation in a Telegram post quoted by the business news portal RBC, she also remarked:
“Nevertheless, police were still able to secure information on more than 185,000 crypto exchange transactions.”
The exchanges converted criminally obtained crypto into fiat, she detailed on the state-backed Max messenger, as per TASS.
Five suspects, moderators of the darknet forum, have been detained since August 2025, the official Russian news agency added.
They have been charged with “organizing a criminal community” under the respective article of Russia’s Criminal Code and remanded in custody.
Computers, documents, cash and cryptocurrency were seized during searches, Volk said, while investigators continue to work to identify all involved, including users.
Moscow is cracking down on illegal and uncontrolled crypto trading
Russia, which recently legalized cryptocurrency transactions like trading, has been taking steps to curb illegal activities and bring the rest of the sector out of the shadows.
In August, the country’s Federal Security Service (FSB) detained 20 individuals, employees of crypto exchanges operating out of offices in the “Moscow City” business district.
At the time, the agency insisted the targeted platforms had been used by Ukraine-based call centers laundering funds stolen from Russian citizens lured by various fraud schemes.
It said its officers had interrupted nine foreign-controlled channels used to move money out of the Russian Federation via crypto assets, as reported by the Regnum news agency.
The parliament in Moscow adopted a comprehensive bill “On Digital Currencies and Digital Rights” earlier this summer, before President Putin signed into law and it entered into force in September.
It introduces licensing for crypto platforms such as exchanges and depositories, and the Bank of Russia already expressed hope that those operating in the gray market will be gone by the end of the year.
The monetary authority believes many of these entities are processing funds with unclear origin. The regulator is already clamping down on crypto-for-cash trading as well as peer-to-peer exchanges.
Since the new legal framework was established, the Russian central bank has authorized nearly two dozen organizations to offer crypto trading and custodial services.
Among the first registered participants in the regulated market were the largest majority-state owned banks, Sber and VTB, as well as the stock exchanges of Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Small crypto exchanges face Russia’s unattainable requirements
This week, Russian media reported that the monetary policy regulator has issued clarifications regarding some of the rules that licensed service providers need to abide by.
For example, cryptocurrency exchanges must settle with their clients either simultaneously with the execution of a transaction or immediately thereafter.
In other words, they won’t be able to defer the fulfilment of an order at all, even until the end of the day, the Bits.media news outlet noted on Monday.
Industry watchers interviewed by the business daily Kommersant on Tuesday pointed out that only large players will have the means to process transactions so fast.
This level of operational efficiency, seen in stock and bond trading, requires seamless coordination across the entire market infrastructure, the experts highlighted.
This will pose a serious challenge for smaller crypto exchanges which are yet to establish the necessary connections with banking institutions and digital-asset custodians.
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