BTC-e Operator Pleads Guilty to $9 Billion Money Laundering Conspiracy
Alexander Vinnik has pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy for using BTC-e Crypto exchange unethically.
BTC-e was a popular cryptocurrency exchange that operated from 2011 until its closure in 2017. It was one of the oldest and most prominent platforms for trading various cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum. However, BTC-e faced legal hurdles due to allegations of money laundering activities on the platform. Also, some investigations showed an alleged connection to the Mt.Gox Bitcoin exchange hack. In 2017, the U.S. government seized the BTC-e domain and halted all crypto trading operations. Since then, BTC-e has been defunct, and its closure marked a significant event in the history of the crypto world.
On 4 May 2024, The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced multiple charges against BTC-e founder Alexander Vinnik.
Initial investigation by the enforcement agencies found that BTC-e Crypto exchange was used to launder $9 billion worth of crypto assets under the leadership of Alexander.
The US DOJ noted that the BTC-e crypto exchange was running without proper registration & compliance and also there was no KYC barrier, so it was easy for bad actors to use BTC-e to launder money from one country to another country.
As per the investigation report, nearly $4 billion out of $9 billion transactions on this crypto exchange were part of money laundering, enabling the illicit transfer of funds through BTC-e, resulting in criminal losses totalling at least $121 million.
It is worth it to know that Alexander was arrested in 2017 in Greece & later in 2020 he was extradited to France. In France, he was sentenced to five years in prison over money laundering charges but after serving two years in a French prison, he was extradited to the US in Aug 2022.
In the past, Alexander, who is a Russian citizen, once tried to exchange himself for someone else in a deal between Russia and the United States where prisoners would be swapped but somehow his plan failed.
Read also: Hackers Allege Access to 400K Bitfinex Crypto Accounts, Bitfinex CTO dismisses
