Alexander Vinnik pleaded guilty to laundering $9 billion

It is estimated that from 2011 to 2017, the trading platform processed transactions worth more than $9 billion. This is stated in press release US Department of Justice.

Vinnik faces up to 10 years in prison

According to the report, Vinnik intentionally facilitated illegal activities that were carried out through the BTC-e crypto exchange. His actions led to losses of $121 million, prosecutors noted.

According to law enforcement, BTC-e was one of the world's largest crypto exchanges, which was actively used by cybercriminals. The platform received criminal proceeds from hacking attacks and other crimes related to data theft and fraud.

Almost all of BTC-e's activities were carried out from the United States. However, the site has never received a money services license from the US Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). In addition, the platform also:

• did not include any anti-money laundering (AML) policies or know-your-customer (KYC) procedures;
• did not collect user data, which attracted criminals.

In 2017, FinCEN fined BTC $110 million for intentionally violating American AML laws. In addition, Vinnik also suffered – he was ordered to pay $12 million, and was also arrested on the Greek peninsula of Chalkidiki at the request of the US authorities.

In 2020, a Paris court found Vinnik guilty of money laundering through BTC-e and sentenced him to five years in prison. In 2022, he was extradited to the United States.

The lawyer of the accused, Arkady Bukh, commented to the publication TASS stated that Vinnik could face up to ten years in prison. He added that the prosecutor's office charged the creator of BTC-e with articles for which he could receive life imprisonment. However, a deal with US law enforcement made it possible to reduce the term.