The Exchange That Stayed Silent
On July 13, 2018, Special Counsel Robert Mueller published one of the most explosive indictments in modern political history, accusing 12 Russian GRU officers of hacking the DNC and Clinton campaign. Buried in the detailed indictment—on page 37—was a startling reference:
“The conspirators kept their newly mined coins in an account on the bitcoin exchange platform CEX.IO… routed funds into other accounts to obscure the source of funds.”
CEX.IO became the only cryptocurrency exchange explicitly named in connection with the alleged Russian interference operation.
And yet—no press release, no legal rebuttal, no public clarification from the company in over seven years.
That silence, as ILON Investigations has uncovered, was not accidental. It was strategic. And behind it lies a story of quiet deals, embassy visits, regulatory blind spots, and whispers of collusion—stretching from London to Kyiv to Washington.
The Whistleblower’s Account — “We Were Told to Stay Quiet”
On July 22, 2025, ILON Investigations received one of many emails from a source inside CEX.IO, sent from a verifiable company domain. However this one directed us to a well-kept secret.
The email stated:
“After I saw what Tulsi Gabbard said, I think you should read the Mueller report… In 2017, there were visits to our office from people who speak English—from America and UK.
I remember one of them, they called him Mr. Kent, and someone said he is from the US Embassy. We named him ‘Superman Dad.’ He came at least two times and had private meetings with our top bosses.”
The whistleblower continues:
“After these visits, everything changed. Before, everyone was worried about licenses and regulation. But after the meetings, it was known that there will be no problems. Everything became more relaxed, like we were safe now.
When the Mueller report was tabled, we were told not to worry about what was said about us—that it was all fixed. We just needed to be quiet.”
Previous emails revealed internal directives to relocate CEX.IO’s cold storage infrastructure to the United States, with this email confirming the move was being resisted by staff who saw no legitimate operational justification.
“Nobody says who is telling this, but managers are being asked again and again why it is ‘not possible.’ They want us to give reasons, but the truth is, many don’t want to move it.”
The implication is chilling: Western diplomatic influence shielded CEX.IO from regulatory consequences in exchange for quiet compliance with a broader narrative.
The FCA’s Blind Eye – And the Shadow of Gateway 21
In June 2025, ILON Investigations published an in-depth report titled “Why the FCA Looks Away”, which uncovered an alarming regulatory loophole enabling CEX.IO to continue marketing and operating within the United Kingdom under the pretence of compliance—despite years of controversy and unresolved consumer complaints.
At the heart of this loophole is a little-known firm called Gateway 21, an FCA-approved entity that effectively acted as a shield for CEX.IO, allowing the exchange to bypass direct scrutiny from the regulator.
Gateway 21 and Its Architect: Carly Kristen NUZBACH LOWERY
The driving force behind Gateway 21 is Carly Kristen NUZBACH LOWERY, a figure who rarely appears in public filings but wields considerable influence within the fintech compliance ecosystem.
Our investigation revealed that:
- Lowery manages a complex web of corporate structures, carefully designed to diffuse liability and insulate her personally from enforcement actions.
- She has documented connections to Zionist financial networks in the US and Israel, raising questions about why a UK crypto compliance intermediary is linked to powerful lobbying circles.
- Sources within the compliance community describe her selection as “hand-picked for a purpose,” likening her placement to controversial figures historically positioned to protect elite financial interests,
- As one insider starkly put it.
“The Jeffrey Epstein of fintech,”
The FCA’s Role: Passive or Active Collusion?
The arrangement between Gateway 21 and CEX.IO was not hidden. It was created by the FCA. Yet instead of closing loopholes, the regulator actively facilitated them—granting CEX.IO a backdoor into the UK market without demanding full ownership transparency or operational audits.
This is not an isolated lapse. Over the past five years, the FCA has:
- Ignored repeated compliance warnings related to CEX.IO’s operational practices.
- Failed to act on mounting consumer complaints alleging frozen accounts and misappropriated funds.
- Allowed reauthorization through intermediaries, despite ongoing international scrutiny tied to the Mueller Report’s allegations and U.S. enforcement actions.
The FCA’s behaviour demonstrates a position of total negligence—it signals systemic regulatory capture, where powerful players rewrite the rulebook to their advantage while ordinary investors bear the cost.
As one former FCA insider told ILONnews:
“The crypto licensing regime was supposed to be about consumer protection. Instead, it has become a tool for political influence and financial manipulation. Gateway 21 is the perfect example of that.”
While another insider wrote:
“I’ve been unable to find an entry for CEX.IO which means they are not authorised by the FCA.”
As well as:
“CEX.IO has the hallmarks of a scam”
Our findings were supported by on-camera testimony and documentation presented in our YouTube investigation:
▶ Watch: “The Crypto That Wasn’t Cold: How CEX.IO Played the West”
The video exposed FCA inaction despite compliance failures and repeated consumer complaints.
Public Complaints, Private Deals
While the FCA turned a blind eye, consumer complaints exploded:
- Frozen accounts
- Arbitrary withdrawal blocks
- Extended KYC delays despite full documentation
- Crypto currency vanishing from accounts
The Better Business Bureau and Trustpilot carry hundreds of unresolved grievances dating back to 2023, painting a consistent pattern of access denial and asset seizure.
Meanwhile, in February 2023, the FDIC issued a cease-and-desist order against CEX.IO for misleading U.S. consumers about FDIC insurance coverage, violating U.S. law. (FDIC Letter)
Despite these red flags, CEX.IO’s market footprint expanded. And all after they were named in the Mueller Report.
The Players & the Power Structure
Who are the individuals behind this global cover-up?
- Oleksandr Lutskevych – Founder & CEO of CEX.IO, Ukrainian entrepreneur with deep connections in Eastern European tech circles.
- Mr. Kent (alias?) – Allegedly a U.S. Embassy attaché in Kyiv, identified by whistleblower as having at least two meetings with CEX.IO leadership in 2017.
- Carly Kristen NUZBACH LOWERY – CEO of Gateway 21 acting as FCA-approved intermediaries enabling CEX.IO’s operational continuity without direct scrutiny.
- FCA CEO and Chairman of the Board – Cited in ILON’s reporting as having knowledge of internal escalations that were never acted upon.
The Mueller Report Connection
The Mueller indictment states:
“The conspirators kept their newly mined coins in an account on the bitcoin exchange platform CEX.IO… routed funds into other accounts through transactions designed to obscure the source of funds.”
No other exchange was named in the entire report. NONE.
Yet CEX.IO has never issued a public denial. No press statement. No transparency report. And the MSM said Nothing.
Why?
The answer may lie in the whistleblower’s chilling words:
“It was all fixed. We just needed to be quiet.”
Where the evidence leads — Trump’s impeachment?
Based on the whistleblower’s testimony, the timeline of embassy visits, and the directive to stay silent, the evidence leads to one conclusion:
The Mueller narrative required reinforcement. A named exchange—CEX.IO—gave the allegations technical credibility. By associating a real-world company with the GRU, investigators strengthened the case for collusion.
The internal instruction that “it was all fixed” and the assurance of “no licensing problems” suggest that CEX.IO may have been leveraged by Western officials to support a political objective: to undermine President Donald Trump’s legitimacy and derail his administration during its most vulnerable phase.
This conclusion gains further weight from CEX.IO’s unexplained regulatory immunity, even as other exchanges faced heavy enforcement for lesser compliance failures.
If correct, this was not just a crypto scandal—it was a geopolitical operation masquerading as a cybersecurity case.
The Questions That Demand Answers
- Why did CEX.IO remain silent on allegations linking it to Russian intelligence operations?
- Why did the FCA enable operational continuity despite repeated compliance failures?
- Who pressured CEX.IO to relocate cold storage to the United States—and why?
- Were Western intelligence and regulatory bodies complicit in a controlled narrative designed to damage President Trump’s first term?
ILONnews’ Takes Steps
On the 5th of August 2025, we sent formal requests to:
- Pam Bondi, U.S. Attorney General, DOJ
- Nikhil Rathi, Chief Executive, FCA
Requesting:
- Immediate investigation into CEX.IO’s activities between 2015–2020
- Subpoena of internal communications regarding embassy visits and storage relocation
- Regulatory accountability for the FCA’s permissive role
We also confirm: all whistleblower evidence, including raw emails, has been provided to the FCA for 14 months—and we grant full permission for this evidence to be shared with U.S. authorities.
The Bigger Picture
This is not about one crypto platform. It’s about global governance, regulatory capture, and the use of financial infrastructure as a geopolitical weapon.
When the same institutions that claim to defend democracy manipulate markets and narratives to achieve political ends, trust collapses.
And that collapse starts here—with CEX.IO.
The silence ends today.
📢 Read the full archive of ILONnews investigations on CEX.IO → https://ilonnews.com/page/1/?s=CEX.IO
📺 Watch our FCA investigation video → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXK1Nuf9Aso
#CryptoCoverUp #CEXIO #RegulatoryCapture #MuellerReport #TrumpRussiagate
