Polish authorities have arrested Dmitry V., the previous chief of the Russia-based crypto change WEX, in central Warsaw, following an extradition request from the U.S. Division of Justice.
The arrest comes as a part of an investigation into alleged fraud and cash laundering throughout Dmitry V.’s time overseeing WEX, which was the successor to the notorious BTC-e change.
BTC-e was Russia’s largest crypto change earlier than its collapse in 2018, and Dmitry V. now faces fees associated to the platform’s operations.
EXPLORE: 10 Best Decentralized Exchanges for September 2024
Poland Crypto Arrest: Dmitry V. is In Custody in Poland
In accordance with reports from Reuters and Polish outlet Rzeczpospolita, the suspect is in custody as Polish authorities course of the extradition request.
A police spokesperson confirmed that Dmitry V. is awaiting the completion of procedures that might result in his extradition to the U.S., the place he might resist 20 years in jail if convicted.
“Dmitry V. is suspected of quite a few frauds, cash transfers and cash laundering in reference to operating one of many largest cryptocurrency exchanges on the earth,” the police mentioned in a press release.
This will not be the primary time Dmitry V. has been arrested. In August 2021, Polish authorities detained him, however he was launched after 40 days in custody following a courtroom choice.
Polish authorities arrest ex-WEX change chief for $450M fraud
Dmitry Vasiliev, former head of Russia’s WEX change, detained in Warsaw on U.S. extradition request.
— Bitcoinsensus (@Bitcoinsensus) December 8, 2024
In 2022, Interpol arrested him at Zagreb Airport in Croatia in reference to a separate extradition request from Kazakhstan. He was additionally briefly detained in Italy in 2019, however the extradition request was later discovered to be flawed.
WEX, which processed over $9 billion in transactions and had over 1,000,000 customers, grew to become infamous for its lack of id checks and involvement in high-profile crypto hacks, together with the Mt. Gox breach.
The change can also be linked to the mysterious disappearance of roughly $450 million in funds.
EXPLORE: Lara Trump and Tiffany Trump Latest Celebrity Crypto Hack Victims: $400k Swindled
Assaults on Main Centralized Exchanges Ramp Up With Bull Market
Final week, Japanese cryptocurrency change DMM Bitcoin announced its closure following a large safety breach in Could that resulted in losses of over $300 million.
The incident is a part of a wider sample of rising cyberattacks on centralized exchanges in 2024.
Different vital breaches this 12 months embody the $235 million hack of India’s WazirX change in July, a $52 million assault on Singapore’s BingX in September, and a $55 million exploit of Turkey’s BtcTurk in June.
In September, the Indonesian cryptocurrency change Indodax was hacked, resulting in the theft of over $22 million value of varied tokens.
Extra just lately, XT.com, a cryptocurrency change based mostly in Seychelles, halted withdrawals after reports surfaced of a potential $1.7 million hack.
EXPLORE: 51% Attack Explained Simply + Real Life Example (2024 Updated)
Join The 99Bitcoins News Discord Here For The Latest Market Updates
The publish Former WEX Chief Arrested in Poland Amid U.S. Extradition Request appeared first on 99Bitcoins.