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Local Russian media outlets reported<\/a> on Monday that Bitzlato co-founder Anton Shkurenko was detained in Moscow on Feb. 6 at the request of Interpol. However, according to a Feb. 10 report<\/a> from CoinDesk, Shkurenko was stopped and detained by the local police for an identity check, then promptly let go after a conversation.<\/p>\n Shkurenko said he is not involved in any criminal cases in Russia, while not disclosing details of the investigation:<\/p>\n \u201cI hope I convinced the prosecutor of my innocence.\u201d <\/p><\/blockquote>\n He did not specify the sector of law enforcement that detained him, though he mentioned he signed a contract to appear when and if requested by investigators. Shkurenko, therefore, received a no-detention warrant to skirt future arrests.<\/p>\n At the time of arrest, Shkurenko attests that he is a \u201ctech consultant\u201d for Bitzlato. However, he reportedly held the keys for the exchange\u2019s crypto wallets, though they have since been handed over to other team members.<\/p>\n Bitzlato still has around 100 active employees despite the recent crackdowns from global authorities. Shkurenko told CoinDesk that a relaunch of the exchange, with a base in Russia, could happen in the near future.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI could launch the exchange from my apartment.\u201c <\/p><\/blockquote>\n According to the co-founder, the team has held onto the majority of its users\u2019 funds. Shkurenko said he could \u201cquickly\u201d resume operations. <\/p>\n Related: <\/em><\/strong>Cleaning up crypto: How much enforcement is too much?<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n This comes on the heels of a series of updates involving Bitzlato\u2019s operational status. On Jan. 18, authorities in the United States took action against the exchange<\/a> with accusations of money laundering and allegedly bypassing sanctions against Russia. <\/p>\n According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the exchange handled nearly $700 million of illicit funds.\u00a0<\/p>\n As the investigation against the exchange continues, various prominent companies in the crypto space have been called out for connections with Bitzlato. One is Binance,\u00a0named by the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network<\/a>\u00a0a major receiver of Bitcoin (BTC<\/a>) from the exchange.<\/p>\n LocalBitcoins, another cryptocurrency platform, shut\u00a0down on Feb. 9<\/a> and was also linked to Bitzlato as a big sender of BTC.\u00a0<\/p>\n On Jan 23. Europol reported that\u00a0it seized $19.5 million in crypto<\/a> in an enforcement action against Bitzlato. A little over a week later, on Feb. 2,\u00a0Spanish authorities detained<\/a> the exchange\u2019s CEO. <\/p>\n