Greek police have arrested one of many central figures within the Bitcoin change BTC-e on suspicion of cash laundering. Russian citizen Alexander Vinnik was arrested in Greece on the request of US regulation enforcement, based on a Reuters report.
The BTC-e trade has lengthy been a favourite of criminals, as its headquarters in Russia locations it outdoors the attain of US and European regulation enforcement. Recent Google research discovered that 95 % of ransomware cash-outs occurred by means of the BTC-e trade, though it’s unclear whether or not the change itself can be responsible for these funds.
These funds have made BTC-e one of many largest bitcoin exchanges, commonly dealing with greater than three % of complete Bitcoin transactions. The change has been down since Tuesday night.
The fees towards Vinnik are nonetheless sealed, and are more likely to stay sealed as prosecutors try and extradite him to the US. Nevertheless, regulation enforcement officers indicated that as a lot as $four billion is suspected to have been laundered via the platform.
Some analysts additionally consider Vinnik is related the huge theft that introduced down the Mt Gox bitcoin change in 2014. In a report released shortly after the arrest, the safety agency Wizsec described Vinnik as “our chief suspect for involvement within the Mt Gox theft (or the laundering of the proceeds thereof).” Analyzing transactions on the blockchain, the group claims to have seen the proceeds from a number of high-profile Bitcoin thefts move via wallets listed underneath Vinnik’s identify.
Mt Gox was the preferred trade of early Bitcoin customers, till it was revealed to be catastrophically insolvent because of a long-running theft, which made off with as a lot as $400 million in bitcoin. The wrongdoer has by no means been recognized, and has remained a topic of intense hypothesis all through the bitcoin group.
Previous analysis of the theft indicated the essential compromise occurred as early as 2011, with subsequent withdrawals going unnoticed till years afterward. BTC-e was based in July 2011.
Sarah Jeong contributed further reporting to this text.
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