Dmitry Vasiliev was the former chief executive at Wex in Russia. He was released earlier this month from Warsaw. While he is still being prosecuted in Poland, the ex-chief executive of the defunct cryptocurrency trading platform Wex has returned to Russia.
Polish Court rejects extradition of Wex Executive from Kazakhstan
Authorities in Poland have released Dmitry Vasiliev, the man who was at the helm of Wex, once Russia’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. He was originally detained in Warsaw on Aug. 11 for approximately 40 days, but was later released.
Vasiliev stated to RBC the Russian business news portal that he was allowed leave Russia Dec. 7, and since has been back in Russia, where he lives. The Polish lawyer for Vasiliev explained to RBC that although the court had dismissed his extradition request to Kazakhstan, it is still considering his case.
After $450 million disappeared from Wex accounts, the former executive of Wex was taken into custody. According to the Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza, the exchange’s management is responsible for the loss of money that belonged to citizens of EU member states, including Poland, and other countries.
Wex, which was founded in September 2017, is the successor to BTC-e. Alexander Vinnik (one of the alleged owners of Wex) was taken into custody in Greece and detained under an American warrant.
American prosecutors have accused the Russian IT specialist, BTCe, of laundering up to $9Billion. France sentenced him last December to five year imprisonment. France’s judicial authorities rejected him being extradited to Russia because he was also implicated in another crime.
Dmitry Vasiliev was taken into custody in Italy during the summer 2019 on Interpol’s request. This was in relation to the criminal case against Vasiliev in Kazakhstan, where he faces fraud charges. In August 2019, Vasiliev was released by the Italian authorities despite continuing criminal proceedings in several other countries, including Russia, Belarus, and China.
According to reports, 100 ETH were withdrawn by a Wex wallet in September. It was the first withdrawal of these funds for three years. The balance of 9,916 ETH (worth $30 million) was then transferred to a new address a few more days later. The Russian interior ministry, MVD was charged in November with failing to respond to a request by victims of the currency exchange for seizing its assets.
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