• European law enforcement authorities have detained four more members of the crypto exchange Bitzlato team.
• Bitzlato is accused of facilitating the laundering of large amounts of criminal proceeds.
• Police have conducted eight home searches and seized wallets with €18 million ($19.5 million) worth of cryptocurrency.

European law enforcement authorities have conducted an international investigation against crypto exchange Bitzlato, resulting in the detention of four more members of the Bitzlato team and the dismantling of its digital infrastructure. The investigation is a joint effort between the U.S. and France, as well as Belgium, Cyprus, Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands. Europol, the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, announced the news on Monday.

The Hong Kong-registered coin trading platform is suspected of facilitating the laundering of large amounts of criminal proceeds, with Europol estimating that nearly half of the funds processed through Bitzlato were associated with various criminal activities. Last week, the U.S. announced the arrest in Miami of its co-founder and majority owner Anatoly Legkodymov, a Russian national residing in China.

In addition to Legkodymov, four more individuals have been detained in Europe as part of the investigation. Among them, the CEO, financial director, and marketing director of the exchange who were arrested in Spain, and another person handcuffed in Cyprus.

As part of the investigation, police have conducted eight home searches. This included four searches in Spain, one address in the U.S., two in Portugal, and one in Cyprus. The searches led to the seizure of wallets with €18 million ($19.5 million) worth of cryptocurrency, vehicles, computers, hard disks, and documents.

The investigation is still ongoing, and although the exchange infrastructure has been dismantled, it is unclear if any other arrests will be made in the near future. Bitzlato has yet to respond to the accusations.