Russians charged in Mt. Gox Bitcoin heist and BTC-e money laundering

By Habiba Rashid
Accused individuals allegedly conspired to launder around 647,000 stolen Bitcoins from Mt. Gox, leading to its collapse.
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New Zealand freezes $90 million connected to accused bitcoin launderer Alexander Vinnik

Authorities in New Zealand have seized the equivalent of $90 million in assets as part of an investigation into a Russian man accused of laundering cybercriminal funds through a global cryptocurrency exchange. The New Zealand Police announced Monday it had taken control of the funds, equivalent to $140 million in New Zealand dollars, belonging to Alexander Vinnik, the alleged operator of BTC-e, a currency trading platform shuttered by the U.S. government in 2017. The exchange effectively functioned as a money laundering operation for internet scammers engaged in computer hacking, ransomware attacks, fraud and illicit drug sales, according to New Zealand Police Commissioner Andrew Coster. “New Zealand Police has worked closely with the Internal Revenue Service of the United States to address this very serious offending,” Coster said in a statement. “These funds are likely to reflect the profit gained from the victimization of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of […]

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Police bust alleged operator of Bitcoin mixing service Helix

The Ohio man is charged with running a Bitcoin mixer to launder over $300m—now worth $3.6b—on behalf of Dark Net crooks trying to hide out. Continue reading Police bust alleged operator of Bitcoin mixing service Helix

Greece U-Turns — Now Approves Mr. Bitcoin’s Extradition To Russia

Greece just took another U-turn.

Mr. Bitcoin a.k.a. Alexander Vinnik is not going to France nor to the United States; instead, he is now possibly going to his homeland Russia.

The Supreme Civil and Criminal Court of Greece on Friday has overruled pre… Continue reading Greece U-Turns — Now Approves Mr. Bitcoin’s Extradition To Russia

BTC-e Operator, Accused of Laundering $4 Billion, to be Extradited to France

In a legal extradition tug-of-war between the United States and Russia, it seems France has won the game, surprisingly.

A Greek court has ruled to extradite the Russian cybercrime suspect and the former operator of now-defunct BTC-e crypto exchange to… Continue reading BTC-e Operator, Accused of Laundering $4 Billion, to be Extradited to France

Russian cybercrime suspect’s extradition to be decided by Greek government

The battle between the United States and Russia over Russian cybercrime suspect Alexander Vinnik’s extradition from Greece was complicated on Wednesday when a Greek court ruled in favor of the Russian effort to extradite Vinnik over the U.S. effort. Russian media outlet RIA Novosti reports that Vinnik will face charges of fraud in Russia on the scale of around $11,000. This week’s ruling follows another ruling by a separate panel of Greek judges that agreed to send Vinnik to the U.S., which seeks to extradite him on charges that he ran the cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e and engaged in money laundering to the tune of $4 billion. Vinnik’s fate will fall to Greece’s Supreme Court where a hearing will take place within the next three weeks. Greece’s justice minister Nikos Paraskevopoulos has the final say in where Vinnik ends up. Vinnik, 37, pleaded not guilty all charges. He has repeatedly fought for extradition to Russia where he faces far less serious […]

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Greek Court Approves US Extradition of BTC-e Operator In $4 Billion Money Laundering Case

A Greek court has approved the U.S. extradition of a 38-year-old Russian national accused of laundering more than $4 billion in bitcoin for culprits involved in hacking attacks, tax fraud and drug trafficking with the help of the now-defunct BTC-e exchange.

Alexander Vinnik, an alleged operator of BTC-e—a digital currency exchange service that has been in operation since 2011 but seized by

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U.S., Russia fighting to extradite suspected Russian cybercriminal who ran $4 billion bitcoin exchange

The case against the Russian cybercrime suspect Alexander Vinnik opened in a Greek courtroom on Friday with two world powers sparring over who will extradite the Russian citizen. Vinnik, 37, pleaded not guilty to charges from the United States that he ran the cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e and engaged in money laundering at the scale of $4 billion. His lawyer is fighting extradition to California where federal charges were filed against him. He was arrested on those charges while he vacationed in Greece over the summer. A decision on the U.S. request is set to be made by Oct. 4. Vinnik, a Russian national, also faces charges in Russia in a separate fraud case that will reach a Greek court next week. Vinnik’s lawyer said he won’t fight that extradition request, indicating a preference of Moscow over the United States. The U.S. Justice Department describes Vinnik as the man behind BTC-e, […]

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