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Guilty plea submitted by e-BTC operator for money laundering
The US Department of Justice announced that Russian Alexander Vinnik, who ran BTC-e, dismantled cryptocurrency exchangepleaded guilty to charges relating to his involvement in laundering the proceeds of cybercrime around the world between 2011 and 2017, reports News about hackers.
In addition to receiving over $4 billion worth of Bitcoin, BTC-e also processed over $9 billion worth of transactions from more than 1 million users worldwide until its shutdown nearly seven years ago, according to the Department of Justice.
“BTC-e has been one of the primary ways that cybercriminals around the world have transferred, laundered and stored the criminal proceeds of their illegal activities. Vinnik operated BTC-e with the intent to promote these illegal activities and is was responsible for a loss amounting to at least $121 million,” the Justice Department said.
This development follows money laundering charges filed by the United States against fellow BTC-e operator Aliaksandr Klimenka in February.