Fun

Ex-Head оf Wex Crypto Exchange Reportedly Arrested in Poland, Faces Extradition to Kazakhstan

News Feed - 2021-09-20 07:09:31

Ex-Head оf Wex Crypto Exchange Reportedly Arrested in Poland, Faces Extradition to Kazakhstan


Dmitry Vasiliev, former chief executive of Russian cryptocurrency exchange Wex, has been detained in Warsaw, the Polish press reported. Vasiliev iswanted in Kazakhstan where he is accused of fraud related to the now defunct trading platform, successor of the infamous BTC-e exchange. Former Wex Executive in Polish Custody as Prosecutor’s Office Reviews Extradition Request


Ex-owner and CEO of Wex Dmitry Vasiliev was detained at the Warsaw airport on Aug. 11, the leading Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza revealed this week. According to sources quoted by the publication, the 34-year-old native of Belarus has been placed under arrest for 40 days.



Poland’s National Public Prosecutor’s Office is now considering his extradition to Kazakhstan. Authorities in the Central Asian country have been looking for Vasiliev through Interpol for several years as part of ongoing investigation on fraud charges.


In its report on the case, the BBC Russian Service said Polish police had declined to comment on the information about the case. However, rumors of Vasiliev’s detention have been circulating among Wex’s clients since August and a close acquaintance of his has confirmed to the BBC that he was indeed in Polish custody.


This isn’t Dmitry Vasiliev’s first arrest in Europe. Two years ago, he was detained in Italy but managed to eventually return to the Russian Federation where he resided permanently in the city of Saint Petersburg. Italian authorities released him after several weeks in detention, citing faults in his extradition request. Dmitry Vasiliev’s BTC-e Connection


Wex, once the largest crypto trading platform in the Russian-speaking world, was launched in the fall of 2017 as a successor of BTC-e. The infamous exchange closed down earlier that year following the arrest of one of its alleged operators, Alexander Vinnik, in Greece. Vinnik is accused by the U.S. of laundering up to $9 billion through BTC-e. He was sentenced to five years in prison by a French court in December.


According to the Russian business news portal RBC, Wex had reached a daily turnover of $80 million before it went offline. In 2018, its operator, the Singapore-based entity World Exchange Services, was sold to Dmitry Havchenko, an entrepreneur from Kyiv turned separatist fighter in Eastern Ukraine. While Dmitry Vasiliev was the company’s official owner, BBC claims Wex actually belonged to Aleksey Bilyuchenko, Vinnik’s partner at BTC-e.


After being in and out of service for months, during which it also changed its web address several times, Wex halted withdrawals in the summer of 2018 and later went bankrupt. According to estimates by a group of Wex users quoted by Forklog, total losses exceed $400 million with Vasiliev himself suspected of withdrawing $200 million. He is wanted in Kazakhstan after a trader from Almaty turned to local law enforcement accusing the Belarusian of stealing $20,000 worth of funds through Wex.


According to the report, 100 ETH have been recently withdrawn from a wallet belonging to Wex that has a remaining balance of over 9,900 ETH. The digital currency was transferred to Binance, the first such transaction in the past three years. In 2018, the world’s leading crypto exchange blocked an account that had received 93,000 ETH from wallets associated with Wex.


Do you expect Poland to extradite former Wex executive Dmitry Vasiliev to Kazakhstan? Tell us in the comments section below. AT&T Sued by Customer After Security Breach Led to Theft of Cryptocurrency NEWS | 5 hours ago Ukraine Officials Fail to Account for Millions in Declared Crypto Assets NEWS | 12 hours ago Tags in this story Alexander Vinnik, Arrest, bankrupt, Belarus, belarusian, BTC-e, ceo, Clients, crypto exchange, Cryptocurrency Exchange, custody, Customers, detention, Dmitry Vasiliev, Exchange, Executive, extradition, extradition request, head, Italy, Kazakhstan, Money Laundering, owner, Poland, Russia, russian, Traders, users, Wex


Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article. Read disclaimerShow comments

News Feed

BlackRock Bitcoin ETF records biggest inflow day since March at $523M
Tom Mitchelhill7 hours agoBlackRock Bitcoin ETF records biggest inflow day since March at $523MThe BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF has witnessed over half a billion dollars of inflows on the same day a flurry of spot
Pixelverse to put Pudgy Penguin character on Telegram mini game
Ezra Reguerra10 hours agoPixelverse to put Pudgy Penguin character on Telegram mini gameA Pudgy Penguins character integrates into Pixelverse, joining characters like Doge from Dogecoin and Mew from the Solana memecoin M
With Code of Conduct, Trade Group ADAM Seeks Legitimacy for Crypto
One year after its formation, the Association of Digital Asset Markets (ADAM) has drafted a code of conduct for the cryptocurrency market. The trade group has also recruited five m
Digital Asset Exchange Platform Granted ‘Crypto Financial Services Provider License’ by Israeli Regulator
Digital Asset Exchange Platform Granted "Crypto Financial Services Provider License" by Israeli Regulator An Israeli capital markets regulator, the Insurance and Savings Capital Ma
Liquidity Provider B2C2 Launches Gold Derivative Settled in Bitcoin
Crypto liquidity and OTC provider B2C2 has launched a gold derivatives product that synthetically trades against bitcoin in what the firm says is an important evolution in the safe-haven asset trading space.
Brayden Lindrea3 hours agoEx-FTX exec Salame won’t testify in alleged illegal campaign donation caseRyan Salame plans to plead the Fifth if he is asked to testify at Sam Bankman-Fried"s criminal trial, according to Uni
Samsung is looking into new phone form factors with AI in mind: Report
Brayden Lindrea2 hours agoSamsung is looking into new phone form factors with AI in mind: ReportA Samsung executive said a successful implementation would be more “mobile” and look “radically different” from the
CBDC Could Increase Nigeria’s GDP by $29 Billion in 10 Years: President Buhari
CBDC Could Increase Nigeria’s GDP by $29 Billion in 10 Years: President Buhari The Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari, suggested in a recent speech that the new e-naira central
David Attlee3 hours agoJudge sides with Ripple again, denies SEC appeal: Law DecodedCrypto lawyers are seemingly divided over the significance of a court order to dismiss the SEC’s motion.1734 Total views6 Total shares
$1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Bill Passes Senate With Troubling Crypto Requirements
$1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Bill Passes Senate With Troubling Crypto Requirements The U.S. Senate has passed the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill with a crypto
Spot Dogecoin ETF Gains SEC Traction—Is A Price Surge Next?
Reason to trust Strict editorial policy that focuses on accuracy, relevance, and impartiality Created by industry experts and meticulously reviewed The highest standards in reporting and pu
Eric Chen8 hours agoRipple is staring down an opportunity to fix its closed systemRipple Labs built its XRP token on a centralized system. But with legal action against Ripple coming to a close, it could move toward a mo