BTC-e Operator Arrested For $4 Billion Money Laundering Scheme

[NoMar02]

In July this year Greek police have arrested a Russian man who is believed to have been the operator of the popular BTC-e Bitcoin exchange on charges of laundering more than $4 billion in bitcoin for culprits involved in hacking attacks, tax fraud and drug trafficking.

A United States jury indicted 38-year-old Alexander Vinnik on Wednesday after his arrest in Greece on Tuesday at the request of US law enforcement authorities. The suspect is one of the operators of BTC-e, a service operational since 2011.

Headquartered in Russia, the digital currency exchange has been offline since the arrest of Vinnik, and its homepage says, "Site is under maintenance. We apologize for the inconvenience.."
According to a press release published by the U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), BTC-e ignored "know your customer" laws in an effort to serve criminals, and even hosted message boards buzzing with illegal activities.

Update 5 October:

A Greek court has approved the U.S. extradition of a 38-year-old Russian national accused of laundering more than $4 billion in bitcoin for culprits involved in hacking attacks, tax fraud and drug trafficking with the help of the now-defunct BTC-e exchange.

The Greek court ruled Wednesday (4 October) to extradite Vinnik to the U.S., where he will face trial on the charges with the operation of an unlicensed money service business, money laundering, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and engaging in unlawful monetary transactions.

U.S. authorities suspect Vinnik was the one responsible for facilitating crimes ranging from computer hacking to drug trafficking since at least 2011 through his digital Bitcoin exchange.

Full articles available on:

https://thehackernews.com/2017/10/bitcoin-money-laundering.html
https://thehackernews.com/2017/07/btc-bitcoin-exchange.html

[warningsigns]

The US will always get their man. That's what power is all about. The power to coerce other countries to give up fugitives and extradite them to US soil, American or otherwise. The power to instill fear in other countries if they refuse extradition requests. It's actually a subtle form of blackmail. If you do not give him to us, we will impose economic and diplomatic sanctions on your country.

The Greeks see no advantage in keeping him imprisoned in Athens and feeding him gyros and tzatziki for years while making the Americans unhappy so they will almost always relent.

It's no surprise then that all these exchanges are increasingly making sure that everyone on their books are properly KYC'd and AML'd etc.

[sylance]

This will be a story to watch.  How is the US going to prove he was knowingly laundering money for elicit activities.  What makes this different than a drug dealer going to a casino and putting $1,000 (lower than the IRS documentation requirements) on roulette black, winning and then documenting the $2,000 winnings ($2,000 being above the IRS documentation requirements?)

[OmegaStarScream]

I'm more interested in seeing If he was actually involved in Mt.gox hacking and If Kerpeles has indeed nothing to do with it. As for the BTC-E part, I know that the owner is named Alexander but I believe the exchange already denied they this guy is not affiliated with them and the fact that they are still running under a new name makes me believe them.

[erk]

This arrest happened back in July.
There are threads here already on it, why randomly start another?