Polish authorities arrested Ex-WEX CEO, Dmitry V. in Warsaw following a U.S. extradition request. He is accused of fraud and money laundering tied to WEX’s 2018 collapse.
Polish authorities have reportedly apprehended the former chief of the Russia-based crypto exchange WEX in central Warsaw in response to an extradition request from the United States Department of Justice.
Reuters and Polish outlet Rzeczpospolita reported on Dec. 6 that the man, who was named only as Dmitry V. due to local laws, is suspected of engaging in fraud and money laundering while managing WEX, the successor to BTC-e, Russia’s largest crypto exchange before it collapsed in 2018.
“The man is in custody awaiting the completion of the entire procedure in connection with his extradition,” a Polish police spokesperson told Reuters.
The spokesperson also stated that Dmitry V. could be charged with crimes that bear a maximum 20-year prison sentence upon extradition to the United States.
Ex-WEX CEO Arrest
Dmitry V., a Russian national, was previously apprehended in Poland in August 2021. However, he was released after 40 days in detention as a result of a court decision.
According to Rzeczpospolita, Interpol apprehended Dmitry V. at Croatia’s Zagreb Airport in the summer of 2022 in response to a Kazakhstani extradition request.
He was apprehended by Italian authorities in 2019, but he was promptly released after it was discovered that errors had been made in the extradition request.
According to Rzeczpospolita, approximately $450 million is missing from WEX.
WEX was a renowned “dark” exchange that was reported to have conducted virtually no identity checks and received funds from a variety of high-profile crypto breaches, including those of the early crypto exchange Mt. Gox.
WEX processed over $9 billion in transactions from over one million customers, including a significant number of users in the United States, during its operational phase.
Alexander Vinnik, the former CEO of WEX, which was previously known as BTC-e, entered a guilty plea in May to conspiracy to commit money laundering between 2011 and 2017.
While on vacation in Greece in July 2017, Vinnik, also known as “Mr Bitcoin,” was apprehended and subsequently extradited to the United States in 2022.
Before being extradited to the United States, he was incarcerated in a French penitentiary for two years.
