Polish police have arrested a Russian citizen linked to the now defunct WEX on suspicion of fraud and money laundering. US authorities requested his extradition due to his crypto-related charges and are currently awaiting the completion of the extradition process.
WEX’s ‘Crypto King’ is arrested in Poland
On Friday, local media reported that Polish authorities arrested a 37-year-old Russian citizen in Warsaw. Due to Polish laws, media reports referred to the suspect as “Dmitry V.” but it seems to be referring to the former CEO of the WEX crypto exchange, Dmitry Vasiliev who was born in Belarus.
Vasiliev was arrested by the “Shadow Hunters,” the top unit of the Central Bureau of Police Investigation (CBŚP), in an apartment in the Wola district, Krzysztof Wrześniowski, CBŚP spokesman, revealed.
Wrześniowski noted that the arrest was based on a warrant issued by the Warsaw District Prosecutor’s Office, which acted on a request for restitution by the US Department of Justice. “Dmitry V. is accused of multiple frauds, money transfers, and money laundering in connection with operating one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world,” he added.
It is noteworthy that Vasiliev was arrested in Poland in August 2021. The fugitive was arrested at Warsaw’s Chopin Airport at the request of Kazakhstan, seeking his extradition on crypto-related charges. However, he was released after a few weeks in custody and returned to Russia.
Polish authorities expressed uncertainty over how Vasiliev re-entered the country and remained undetected for so long, suggesting he may have been living quietly to escape the law.
Now, the wanted “crypto king” is facing a new extradition request from the US to be prosecuted for his alleged crimes. If he is successfully extradited, Vasiliev could face up to 20 years in prison, Wrześniwski said.
The suspect is in custody, awaiting the completion of all procedures regarding his extradition to the US.
WEX’s fall of $450 million
As several media outlets reported, Vasiliev was said to be in charge of World Exchange Services (WEX) until his fall in 2018. The exchange was born to “fill the gap” of the defunct BTC-e crypto exchange, which closed due to an FBI investigation into international money laundering and concealment of stolen funds from Mt. Gox.
As reported by the BBC in 2019, despite Vasiliev being the head, WEX was run “in the shadows” by Alexey Bilyuchenko. Bilyuchenko was Alexander Vinnik’s partner in the defunct BTC-e exchange.
After the collapse of BTC-e, he sponsored WEX with the help of billionaire Konstantin Malofeyev. The exchange crashed the following year when $450 million in customer funds disappeared. According to the BBC, Bilyuchenko said he lost control of the exchange in the spring of 2018 after being “tricked” by fake security agents.
The suspect says he was “suggested” to send money to a fund controlled by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) in a meeting with Malofeyev and “agents.” He pointed out that Malofeyev’s colleagues cheated him.
However, the Moscow billionaire, who has “strong ties” to the Kremlin, denies the allegations. Bilyuchenko initially avoided US arrest for BTC-e but was reportedly arrested by Russian authorities for the WEX crash in 2022. In 2023, he was indicted by US authorities for his role in the BTC-e exchange and hacking of Mt. Gox.
Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $97,831 in the one-week chart. Source: BTCUSDT on TradingView
Featured image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com
Source link