Former WEX Chief Arrested In Poland Amid US Extradition Request
According to Cointelegraph, Polish authorities have detained Dmitry V., the former head of the Russia-based cryptocurrency exchange WEX, in central Warsaw. This arrest follows an extradition request from the United States Department of Justice. Dmitry V., whose full name is withheld due to local regulations, is accused of engaging in fraudulent activities and money laundering during his tenure at WEX. WEX was the successor to BTC-e, which was once Russia's largest crypto exchange before its collapse in 2018.
A spokesperson for the Polish police confirmed that Dmitry V. is currently in custody, awaiting the completion of extradition procedures. If extradited to the United States, he could face charges that carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Dmitry V., a Russian national, has a history of legal troubles. He was previously arrested in Poland in August 2021 but was released after 40 days following a court decision. Additionally, in the summer of 2022, he was detained at Zagreb Airport in Croatia by Interpol, responding to an extradition request from Kazakhstan. In 2019, Italian authorities also arrested him, but he was released due to errors in the extradition request.
The downfall of WEX has left approximately $450 million unaccounted for, as reported by Rzeczpospolita. The exchange was notorious for its lack of identity verification processes and was implicated in receiving funds from several high-profile cryptocurrency hacks, including the infamous Mt. Gox incident. During its operational period, WEX facilitated over $9 billion in transactions, serving more than one million users worldwide, including a significant number in the United States.
In a related development, Alexander Vinnik, the former head of WEX when it was known as BTC-e, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering between 2011 and 2017. Vinnik, often referred to as 'Mr. Bitcoin,' was apprehended while vacationing in Greece in July 2017 and was extradited to the United States in 2022. Prior to his extradition, he spent two years in a French prison. These arrests highlight the ongoing international efforts to address and prosecute financial crimes within the cryptocurrency sector.