Alexander Joseluisovich Mira Serda, formerly known as Alexander Eduardovich Ntifo-Siao, is an entrepreneur whom the US authorities describe as a co-owner and commercial director of the Garantex cryptocurrency exchange. He has been charged in the US with conspiracy to launder money. One of the key episodes concerns the exchange CryptoMax. [1][2][3]
Identity and role at Garantex
According to OFAC, Mira Serda was born 31 May 1984; the record lists Russia and Ghana as possible nationalities. American documents combine the former and new names in a single entry. This makes it possible to cross-reference publications about Ntifo-Siao with material about Mira Serda, without artificially creating two separate biographies. [1]
As early as March 2024, the ICIJ and Eesti Ekspress described Ntifo-Siao as a co-owner and commercial director of the Estonian company Garantex Europe. [5] A US Department of Justice statement from March 2025 lists the UAE as his place of residence. This information relates to the date of the statement and does not confirm his current whereabouts. [2]
CryptoMax: a specific instance of the charge
Counts 6 and 13 of the indictment allege that Mira Serda ran CryptoMax, which utilised Garantex’s infrastructure. According to the prosecution, anonymous illegal transactions passed through an account linked to him; the account itself was one of the largest in terms of turnover. [3]
Prosecutors cite internal correspondence: the suspicious origin of the funds was discussed, but CryptoMax continued to be treated as a trusted exchange. Paragraph 14 describes a separate incident: Russian law enforcement agencies were allegedly provided with incomplete information about the account, even though the exchange had the owner’s documents in its possession. [3]
It is precisely this combination that is crucial to the assessment of the case: the alleged management of the exchange, inside knowledge of the risks, and decisions regarding a specific client account. This refers to the prosecution’s version of events, which cannot be substituted with a claim that money laundering has already been proven.
Fintech and CoinKYT
An investigation by Transparency International Russia links Mira Serda and Pavel Karavatsky to Fintech Corporation, the operator of Garantex Academy. The same report also examines CoinKYT, a cryptocurrency risk assessment service. The authors point out that the rights to the relevant trademark were registered in Mira Serda’s name in 2023. [6]
The mere existence of an AML analytics service does not in itself confirm the quality of controls in the owner’s other projects. A key question to be examined is how the results of such analytics were taken into account when transactions were actually authorised.
Sanctions, warrants and the limits of established information
On 14 August 2025, the US added Mira Serd to its sanctions list. A reward was announced at the same time up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest and/or conviction. [1][4]
In the published indictment, Mira Serda is charged with conspiracy to launder money. Additional charges relating to sanctions violations and unauthorised money-lending have been brought against another defendant, Alexei Beschekov. [2]
Neither the charges in the Garantex case nor his ownership of CryptoMax provide grounds for automatically identifying Mira Serd as the owner of Mega or a shareholder in ‘Khimprom’. Separate evidence is required to establish such a personal connection. There is no confirmation of a conviction in the materials used.
