Poland arrests ex-CEO of Russian crypto exchange WEX for US extradition: Report

Polish authorities have reportedly arrested the former chief of the Russia-based crypto exchange WEX in central Warsaw following an extradition request from the United States Department of Justice.

The man, who was named only as Dmitry V. due to local laws, is suspected to have engaged in fraud and money laundering while managing WEX — the successor to BTC-e — Russia’s largest crypto exchange before it collapsed in 2018, Reuters and Polish outlet Rzeczpospolita reported on Dec. 6.

“The man is in custody awaiting the completion of the entire procedure in connection with his extradition,” a Polish police spokesperson told Reuters.

An extradition to the US could see Dmitry V. face charges carrying a maximum 20-year prison sentence, the spokesperson added.

Dmitry V., a Russian national, was previously arrested in Poland in August 2021 but was released following a court decision after 40 days in custody.

Rzeczpospolita reported that Dmitry V. was also arrested at Croatia’s Zagreb Airport in the summer of 2022 by Interpol following an extradition request from Kazakhstan.

In 2019, he was arrested by Italian authorities but was soon released after it was revealed that mistakes were made in the extradition request.

Around $450 million is missing from WEX, Rzeczpospolita reported.

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WEX was a well-known “dark” exchange that was reported to have virtually no identity checks and received funds from numerous high-profile crypto hacks, including from early crypto exchange Mt. Gox.

When it was operational, WEX processed over $9 billion in transactions from more than one million users, including many in the US.

In May, the former head of WEX — then called BTC-e — Alexander Vinnik pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering between 2011 and 2017.

Vinnik, known as “Mr Bitcoin,” was arrested while on vacation in Greece in July 2017 and was extradited to the US in 2022.

He spent two years in a French prison before being extradited to the US.

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