On October 16, the Georgian Ministry of Finance’s Investigative Service announced the arrest of several Russian nationals accused of laundering millions of lari through an illegal cryptocurrency company operating in Georgia.

According to the Ministry, the company had been offering virtual asset services through both a physical office and couriers, despite not being registered with the National Bank of Georgia as required by law. The agency reported that in recent months, the company had carried out transactions "worth hundreds of millions of lari" outside the oversight of financial regulators.

Investigators alleged that the suspects smuggled large amounts of foreign currency into Georgia by bypassing border controls and subsequently used the funds to purchase virtual assets in an attempt to legitimize their illicit income. During the operation, authorities seized $371,000 in cash, accounting records, documentation, and computer equipment from the company’s Tbilisi office. Additionally, $100,000 intended for virtual asset purchases and another $250,000 were confiscated from one defendant, while $250,000 was discovered in his car bearing Russian Federation license plates.