From torture in Bali to a London license: how Ivan Shcherbakov’s Cardex exchange launders illicitly obtained funds

From torture in Bali to a London license: how Ivan Shcherbakov’s Cardex exchange launders illicitly obtained funds

Bali’s crypto extortion problem isn’t rare—it’s routine. Geller revealed in an improvised interview that criminals break into homes, tie up victims, and torture them to unlock their crypto wallets. Then they vanish. And that, he said, is the best-case scenario.

Then come the details no one really thinks about: how do these people actually cash out that crypto?

This is where a well-known figure in certain circles steps in — Ivan Shcherbakov, aka Vannek. He’s a co-owner of the crypto media outlet Cointelegraph, runs the YouTube channel Bali FM, owns a bunch of crypto-related businesses… but the one that matters here is at the bottom of the list — the Cardex crypto exchanger.

An “exchanger”… well, more like a front. Because on their website you won’t find any terms of service, privacy policy, financial policy, or even basic contact details like a phone number or email.

Despite that, Cardex reps decided to show off a “license” and UK registration certificate (see last screenshot). But here’s the catch: that document was issued to a completely separate company with the same name, which has nothing to do with Cardex Online.

There aren’t many reviews of this so-called “international exchanger” either. But the few that exist all say the same thing: once you trust Shcherbakov with your money, you’re not seeing it again.

And don’t think Cardex exists just to skim $100–$1,000 off random users. Nobody builds a whole setup for pocket change like that.

This entire infrastructure (including its media layer) is designed to process money obtained through the kind of schemes described above. Shcherbakov just takes his cut on every conversion. Everything else is just a smokescreen.