Russian Ex-Investigator Jailed for 16 Years Over $73M Bitcoin Bribery Case

A former Russian investigator, Marat Tambiyev, has been sentenced to 16 years in prison after being convicted of accepting Bitcoin bribes worth $73 million. This case marks the largest bribery incident in Russian history, exceeding five times the value of the previous highest bribe.

Half the Criminal Proceeds Diverted

Tambiyev was responsible for investigating an organized crime group but instead diverted more than half of their Bitcoin into his own wallets. Prosecutors revealed that rather than seizing all the group’s assets, Tambiyev allowed them to retain a portion of their illicit funds, securing the remaining Bitcoin for himself. Investigators uncovered the wallet keys on his laptop in a file labeled "Pension."

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Claims of Innocence and Plans to Appeal

Tambiyev, who has denied any wrongdoing, claimed in court that his actions were intended to help the state recover part of the stolen assets. Despite these assertions, Russian prosecutors held him accountable for the loss of the funds. He has since announced plans to appeal the conviction.

Authorities have recovered a third of the missing Bitcoin, but the fate of the remaining funds remains unknown. An alleged accomplice received a nine-year prison sentence in relation to the case.

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Bitcoin Bribes: A Growing Trend

This incident follows other high-profile cases of officials being bribed with Bitcoin. In 2022, the U.S. Justice Department reported that Chinese intelligence officers paid $61,000 in Bitcoin bribes to an FBI double agent.

The scale of Tambiyev’s crime has drawn significant attention to the growing issue of cryptocurrency being used in bribery and corruption. With more of these cases surfacing, the challenge of monitoring and regulating crypto transactions remains critical for law enforcement.