Former WEX exchange director arrested in Warsaw, facing extradition to the US on charges of fraud, money laundering related to $450 million.
On December 6, Dmitry V., former CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange WEX, was arrested in Warsaw, Poland, at the request of the Department of Justice for extradition. Dmitry V., a Russian citizen, is facing charges of fraud and money laundering related to $450 million during his management of WEX, a large cryptocurrency exchange that succeeded BTC-e, before it collapsed in 2018.
The arrest came after the Polish police received an official request from the US. If extradited, Dmitry V. could face up to 20 years in prison.
This is not the first time Dmitry V. has faced legal issues. In 2021, he was arrested in Poland on similar charges, but was released after 40 days of detention. In the summer of 2022, Interpol also arrested him at Zagreb Airport, Croatia, at the request of Kazakhstan for extradition.
Previously, in 2019, he was arrested in Italy but later released due to flaws in the extradition request. These successive arrest attempts reflect the seriousness of the allegations against Dmitry V. and the determination of international law enforcement agencies to prosecute him.
WEX, known as an "underground" exchange, was accused of not performing user identity checks and receiving funds from several major cryptocurrency hacks, including the notorious Mt. Gox attack. An estimated $450 million is believed to have "evaporated" from WEX, affecting over a million users, including many in the US. The total transaction value through WEX is said to have exceeded $9 billion.
Dmitry V.'s arrest comes amid a global crackdown on cryptocurrency-related crime. The case is also related to the case of Alexander Vinnik, former BTC-e director, who pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy from 2011 to 2017. Vinnik, nicknamed "Mr. Bitcoin," was arrested in Greece in 2017 and extradited to the US in 2022 after two years of detention in France.
