Russian cryptocurrency exchange resumes operations after police raid in September

Cryptocurrency exchanges recently raided by police in the Russian capital have partially or fully resumed operations, according to a lawyer involved in the crypto case.

The coin-trading company, which operates out of Moscow’s landmark business center, has been the target of multiple raids over the past few weeks, with cash and hardware seized the latest.

Russian crypto exchanges Mosca and Rapira reopen

A cryptocurrency exchange based in the Moscow International Business Center, commonly known as Moscow City, has resumed operations.

“The situation at the exchange offices is improving. The exchange offices visited by the ‘men in uniform’ are now open,” Denis Mayasov, a lawyer at the Legal Crypto law firm, told Russian-language crypto news outlet Folklog.

Two crypto trading platforms, Mosca and Lapira, are the latest in a series of law enforcement raids, with Russian authorities reportedly opening an investigation into suspected capital flight in late September.

Mayasov commented on the matter on the “Podcast Society” program on Folklog’s YouTube channel on Monday, clarifying:

“Mosca opened today and started working almost immediately. Withdrawals are inactive on Rapira, but the app is working fine.”

Late last month, Bits.media reported that these particular platforms were the subject of raids and authorities seized fiat currency and equipment. Russia’s cryptocurrency information portal cited information from Telegram channel Baza, which is known for its ties to Russian security forces.

The latter revealed that officers seized more than $10 million, 100 million rubles and 200,000 euros from one of the affected exchanges, and also froze funds from other platforms.

In another post, Baza claimed that following the police visit to Lapira and Mosca’s offices, “all cryptocurrency exchanges in Moscow have been closed” and offline deposits and withdrawals are no longer possible.

Mayasov said that while this was not entirely the case, “the raid was so intense that no one could prepare for it.” The legal expert added that the police had acted “forcefully and disrespectfully”, admitting:

“Indeed, a large amount of cash and equipment was seized, including laptops, telephones and other communications equipment.”

Russian government tracks down ‘droppers’ and their bosses

Russia has taken steps to regulate some cryptocurrency activities, such as mining, which was recognized as a legal business activity in 2024, but other activities such as trading remain outside the law, outside of a limited “experimental legal regime” used by Russian companies to circumvent sanctions.

According to RBC Crypto, Russian security authorities began raiding cryptocurrency exchanges last fall, searching numerous locations in more than a dozen Russian regions and launching criminal investigations into suspected illegal banking activities and payments.

Denis Mayasov said the sudden spike in police activity toward the end of the year was mainly due to authorities hunting down “droppers,” commonly known as money mules in Russia, and their handlers, rather than those involved in capital flight, as previously reported.

Droppers are often exploited by fraudsters who use bank accounts and cards registered in their names to process illegal transactions or launder dirty money. The lawyer commented as follows:

“A large amount of cash and cards registered to unknown names are found. Operatives are currently actively searching for a ‘dropper operator.'”

However, Russia’s crypto community is concerned that a series of legal reforms and other measures seemingly targeting this criminal phenomenon are actually harming ordinary crypto traders in the country.

Mayasov stressed that while not currently illegal in Russia, peer-to-peer cryptocurrency transactions are risky as related transactions may be flagged as suspicious.

He warned that P2P traders are in trouble with the law and could be targeted as well as the exchange platforms they use, and advised them to ensure they pay their taxes.

Asked to comment on the future of Russian crypto exchanges, Mayasov predicted that the market would soon become centralized and closely supervised by the state.

“We will see five to 10 platforms that operate with centralization through banking channels and government support,” he elaborated.

As reported by Cryptopolitan, in August, a group of parliamentarians asked the Bank of Russia to authorize the launch of a licensed cryptocurrency trading platform. Their proposal details that this should be “a network of legitimate cryptocurrency exchanges with a physical presence and clear requirements for their operations.”