[Breaking] BTC-e founder arrested for laundering $4 bln in Bitcoin from Mt.Gox

bcn (49)in #cryptocurrency • 7 years ago (edited)

As Reuters confirmed that Alexander Vinnik arrested in Greece today is connected to BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange. He was arrested in a small beachside village in Greece, on a United States warrant.

"Since 2011 the 38-year-old has been running a criminal organization which administers one of the most important websites of electronic crime in the world," said in the statement, describing an alleged money laundering operation that "legalizes proceeds from illegal activities".

The arrest comes amid a broader international crackdown that has resulted in the closures of AlphaBay and Hansa, two of the world's most popular dark markets.

Founded in 2011, BTC-e is one of the oldest and most obscure virtual currency exchanges, allowing users to trade bitcoin anonymously against fiat currencies, such as the U.S. dollar, and other virtual currencies. According to an interview from 2013, BTC-e had 2 founders, Russian programmers Aleksey and Alexander, who wish to remain anonymous.

Personally, I was using this exchange since the beginning and lost about 1 BTC trading there in different currencies. Will keep this thread updated.

#money #bitcoin

7 years ago in #cryptocurrency by bcn (49)

Sort:

bcn (49) 7 years ago

BTC-e just posted on BitcoinTalk:

$1.44

1 vote

[-]

bcn (49) 7 years ago (edited)

Here's the detailed report on how the funds were stolen from Mt.Gox: http://blog.wizsec.jp/2017/07/breaking-open-mtgox-1.html

To be clear, this investigation turned up evidence to identify Vinnik not as a hacker/thief but as a money launderer; his arrest news also suggests this is what he is being suspected for. He may have merely bought cheap coins from thieves and offered a laundering service.

$1.39

2 votes

[-]

ashaman (57) 7 years ago

Very interesting. Somehow I am not very surprised...

$0.12

2 votes

[-]

bcn (49) 7 years ago (edited)

New update: FinCEN imposed a penalty for BTC-e with amount of 110 million USD for Violating US Anti-Money Laundering Laws, and for Vinnik personally - 12 million USD.

$1.28

1 vote

[-]

bcn (49) 7 years ago (edited)

Update: "At the moment we are working to restore the service. ETA: from 5 to 10 days."

$1.22

1 vote

[-]

twitterbot (56) 7 years ago

BTC-E tweeted @ 26 Jul 2017 - 18:42 UTC

Update2: На данный момент ведутся работы по восстановлению работы сервиса. Примерные сроки от 5 до 10 дней. Спасибо за понимание #btce

Disclaimer: I am just a bot trying to be helpful.

$0.00

[-]

bcn (49) 7 years ago

Update from Coindesk: Russian arrested in connection with BTC-e is "chief suspect in the MtGox theft and subsequent money laundering."

$1.22

1 vote

[-]

bcn (49) 7 years ago

In other words: "BTC-E hacked MtGox"

$1.27

1 vote

[-]

twitterbot (56) 7 years ago

CoinDesk tweeted @ 26 Jul 2017 - 17:02 UTC

BREAKING @wizsecurity: Russian arrested in connection with BTC-e is "chief suspect in the MtGox theft and subsequent money laundering."

Disclaimer: I am just a bot trying to be helpful.

$0.00

[-]

canis7lupus (39) 7 years ago

oh gosh i still got all of my ltc on btce... :|
well lets hope for the best :)

$0.02

1 vote

[-]

bibek (54) 7 years ago (edited)

great post..lucky i transferred all fund to my coin base account last week...thanks for info

$0.00

1 vote

[-]

bcn (49) 7 years ago (edited)

Fortunately, I also transferred a big portion of fresh bought ether from there just few days ago (sadly still left some). "NEVER KEEP money on the exchange!"

It was shaddy, but most of exchanges are. It had the cheapest btc, a big variety of options to deposit/withdraw fiat and the support was very responsive.

$0.00

1 vote

[-]