Polish officials in Warsaw have arrested Dmitry V., the former CEO of the defunct Russian cryptocurrency exchange WEX. The United States, charging him with fraud and money laundering in connection with his leadership of the exchange, requested the arrest.
WEX, which superseded the problematic BTC-e platform, was Russia’s largest cryptocurrency exchange until its demise in 2018. During its operation, the exchange processed more than $9 billion in transactions from over a million users worldwide, including many from the United States. Following high-profile cryptocurrency breaches, WEX rose to prominence for its lack of identity verification processes and ties to money.
Dmitry V.’s imprisonment is the latest in a string of legal challenges. Poland imprisoned him in 2021, but released him after 40 days. Kazakhstan detained him in Croatia in 2022 but later released him. His initial arrest in Italy occurred in 2019, but procedural flaws resulted in his eventual release.
The fall of WEX left around $450 million unaccounted for, exacerbating the scandal surrounding its operations. If extradited to the United States, Dmitry V. might face a 20-year prison sentence.
