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    <p>Belgian authorities have accused a London fintech business <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" title="owner" href="https://thebittimes.com/tag/owner.html">owner</a> of using Binance to help <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" title="launder" href="https://thebittimes.com/tag/launder.html">launder</a> hundreds of <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" title="million" href="https://thebittimes.com/tag/million.html">million</a>s of euros into <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" title="bitcoin" href="https://thebittimes.com/tag/bitcoin.html">bitcoin</a> for the benefit of criminals, including a Belgian drug lord known as the “finger <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" title="cutter" href="https://thebittimes.com/tag/cutter.html">cutter</a>” and a Brazilian drug kingpin equivalent to Pablo Escobar.</p> 
    <p>As reported by Bloomberg, Belgian authorities are seeking to extradite 38-year-old Caio Marchesani from the UK. Marchesani “knowingly and intentionally” laundered the funds of international drug traffickers into bitcoin, authorities say.&nbsp;Two of Marchesani’s alleged clients were Flor Bressers and Sergio Roberto De Carvalho.&nbsp;</p> 
    <p>Bressers, a.k.a. the “finger <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" title="cutter" href="https://thebittimes.com/tag/cutter.html">cutter</a>,” was a notorious drug lord who used pruning sheers to slice off a criminal’s fingers whilst also kidnapping and beating up a Dutch florist who failed to transport his drugs.&nbsp;Marchesani is accused of managing 14 Binance accounts on Bressers’ behalf before he was arrested in February 2022.</p> 
    <p>A Binance spokesperson said the crypto exchange has given “practical operational assistance” to authorities in relation to the investigation. </p> 
    <p>Carvalho was known as “the Brazilian Pablo Escobar.” He was the kingpin for an international drug trafficking operation and was arrested in June, 2022. Carvalho was charged with money <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" title="launder" href="https://thebittimes.com/tag/launder.html">launder</a>ing, falsifying documents, staging his own death, and homicide in pursuit of drug trafficking. </p> 
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    <p><em>Read more: ‘Israeli FBI’ busts crypto scam allegedly run by top crime families</em></p> 
    <p>Marchesani supposedly held and <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" title="launder" href="https://thebittimes.com/tag/launder.html">launder</a>ed Carvalho’s criminally obtained cash while charging him suspiciously high transfer rates, prosecutors say. </p> 
    <p>Belgian investigators linked the pair to the smuggling of 12 tonnes of cocaine, worth more than $283 million, that was seized from containers in Rotterdam.&nbsp;Messages were then discovered between Marchesani (under the pseudonym ‘Greysmith’) and Carvalho (under the pseudonym ‘Lucrativeherb’) discussing drug trafficking risks.&nbsp;</p> 
    <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-marchesani-held-1-9-million-in-crypto-assets">Marchesani held $1.9 million in crypto assets</h2> 
    <p>Marchesani was arrested at Heathrow Airport in May this year. At his London apartment, a 24/7 guard was found protecting “very large cash sums” alongside £1.5 million ($1.9 million) in crypto assets. His crypto wallet was later frozen.</p> 
    <p>Marchesani is the owner of FCA-approved Trans-Fast Remittance, a payments intermediary company in London. Filing from an employment case reveals that 85% of Trans-Fast customers are Brazilian and that Marchesani wanted to turn the remittance company into an online bank. </p> 
    <p>The FCA told Bloomberg that it’s “engaging” with Trans-Fast “as part of our ongoing supervisory work, including in relation to these matters.”</p> 
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        Crypto-using Sky_HIGH fentanyl dealers plead guilty 
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     <figcaption class="wp-element-caption"> <em>Read more: Steroids for crypto: ‘JuicePal’ sentenced to 8 years behind bars</em> 
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    <p>He is also the chief financial officer and a 50% shareholder of Acai Berry Foods Ltd, a “thriving business focused on healthy eating in a cafe setting” that his Mishcon de Raya lawyers say is the legitimate source of his funds.</p> 
    <p>Marchesani is denying all the allegations while his lawyers claim the prosecution’s case has “false, vague, ambiguous or inaccurate particulars.”</p> 
    <p>He previously failed to apply for bail as UK courts deemed him a flight risk. His lawyers plan to refute his extradition in UK courts on the grounds that investigators are presenting multiple cases at different moments.</p> 
    <p>If convicted by Belgian authorities, Marchesani could face a maximum of five years of jail time. A UK judge is expected to rule on his extradition by the end of September.</p> 
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<p>Source: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://thebittimes.com/fintech-owner-laundered-millions-with-bitcoin-for-finger-cutter-drug-lord-police-say-tbt61897.html">https://thebittimes.com/fintech-owner-laundered-millions-with-bitcoin-for-finger-cutter-drug-lord-police-say-tbt61897.html</a></p>

Fintech owner laundered millions with bitcoin for 'finger cutter' drug lord, police say

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