Vasilyev Dmitry

Vasilyev Dmitry

Biography

2021: Detention, charge of embezzlement of hundreds of millions of dollars

In mid-September 2021, it became known about the arrest of the former owner of the largest Russia cryptocurrency Wex exchange, Dmitry Vasiliev. He was detained at the airport Warsaw on August 11, 2021, after which the court arrested the entrepreneur for 40 days. He was placed in jail.

According to the Polish newspaper Wyborcza, which refers to its sources, the prosecutor's office Poland is considering the extradition of Dmitry Vasiliev Kazakhstan to Interpol. There he is accused of fraud. According to the investigation, in September 2018, Vasiliev misled an unnamed man with the help of a crypto exchange and stole $20,000.

Criminal cases have been instituted against Dmitry Vasiliev in, and Russia Belarus. China In all countries, he is accused of stealing $450 million using the Wex exchange. According to investigators, USA the money of investors from countries, European Union as well as Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, was stolen through it.

The Wex cryptocurrency exchange went live in September 2017. She had information about the clients of the cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e, which ceased to exist in 2017. The founder of BTC-e is a Russian citizen Alexander Vinnik, who was arrested in 2017 in Greece at the request of the United States, where he is accused of laundering from $4 billion to $9 billion through the exchange he created. In addition to the United States, Vinnik's extradition was sought by Russia and France. He himself admitted to Russian law enforcement officers of embezzlement of 750 million rubles. He reported that he wants "voluntary" extradition to Russia. In January 2020, the Greek authorities issued it to France, where Vinnik was suspected of identity theft and extortion. A Paris court sentenced Vinnik to five years in prison.

According to the BBC, Vasiliev fought in eastern Ukraine under the call sign "Sailor."^[1]

2022: Arrest in Croatia

At the end of May 2022, it became known about the next arrest of Dmitry Vasiliev. This time, the former director of the largest Russian cryptocurrency exchange Wex (formerly known as BTC-e) was detained at the airport in Croatian Zagreb, where he flew from Barcelona, ​ ​ where his mother lives. The businessman was taken into custody on the basis of a warrant issued by Interpol at the request of Kazakhstan in a fraud case for $20 thousand.

The local newspaper 24sata writes about Vasiliev's arrest, as well as the BBC, citing its source. In court, he said that he was not a cryptomoshnik, but a political activist who opposes the actions of the Russian authorities. The businessman asked to be released on bail - first he offered 20 thousand euros, and then 100 thousand euros. According to 24sata, Vasiliev said that he earns about 500 thousand euros per month.

Dmitry Vasiliev

In addition, 35-year-old Vasiliev is suspected of stealing €450 million in Belarus, Russia and China. He himself denies all charges. He was already taken into custody in Italy (he spent several weeks there in prison) and Poland (he was in custody for several months), but the courts found no reason to expel the former head of the Wex crypto exchange to Kazakhstan.

In March 2022, the "red admin" BTC-e (WEX) Alexei Bilyuchenko, suspected of embezzling the assets of a bitcoin exchange, was detained in the Russian Federation. According to the investigation, the attacker controlled the movement of large amounts in cryptocurrencies and their transfer to electronic wallets. Taking advantage of his position, he withdrew part of the funds and appropriated them.

At the time of the arrest, the suspect had two suitcases with 190 million rubles. A criminal case has been opened on the embezzlement of assets of the crypto exchange.

According to the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza, the management of the exchange is responsible for the loss of money belonging to citizens of EU states, including Poland and other countries.^[2]

2024: Detention in Poland

On October 19, 2024, it became known that Dmitry Vasiliev, the former head of the once largest Wex platform in Russia, was detained in Poland. He was arrested in Warsaw by Interpol officers at the request of the United States.

The detention of Vasiliev was announced by the general director of the Exved exchange, Sergei Mendeleev, in his Telegram channel. According to him, Vasiliev is accused of helping to evade anti-Russian sanctions. The process of his extradition to the United States was initiated.

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Page on the social network Dmitry Vasiliev

Local lawyers work with him [Vasiliev], his projects are in the safe hands of his closest partners. Unfortunately, his phone was paraded and seized (he tried to show that Kazakhstan had no complaints against him). This is all information so far, says Mendeleev.

In 2021, Vasiliev was detained at the Warsaw airport due to the loss of $450 million from Wex accounts, in connection with which Kazakhstan requested his extradition. But later Vasiliev was released. And in April 2024, according to the Kommersant newspaper, Georgy Satyukov, an employee of the K department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, who specialized in cybercrimes, including in the crypto-financial sphere, was arrested in absentia. He is charged with taking bribes in cryptocurrency for patronizing the WEX cryptocurrency exchange: the total amount of funds received in this way is estimated at 5 billion rubles.^[3]

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