Polish authorities have arrested Dmitry V., the former chief of the Russia-based crypto exchange WEX, in central Warsaw, following an extradition request from the U.S. Department of Justice.
The arrest comes as part of an investigation into alleged fraud and money laundering during Dmitry V.’s time overseeing WEX, which was the successor to the infamous BTC-e exchange.
BTC-e was Russia’s largest crypto exchange before its collapse in 2018, and Dmitry V. now faces charges related to the platform’s operations.
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Poland Crypto Arrest: Dmitry V. is In Custody in Poland
According to reports from Reuters and Polish outlet Rzeczpospolita, the suspect is in custody as Polish authorities process the extradition request.
A police spokesperson confirmed that Dmitry V. is awaiting the completion of procedures that could lead to his extradition to the U.S., where he could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
“Dmitry V. is suspected of numerous frauds, money transfers and money laundering in connection with running one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world,” the police said in a statement.
This is not the first time Dmitry V. has been arrested. In August 2021, Polish authorities detained him, but he was released after 40 days in custody following a court decision.
📰 Polish authorities arrest ex-WEX exchange chief for $450M fraud
🟠 Dmitry Vasiliev, former head of Russia's WEX exchange, detained in Warsaw on U.S. extradition request.
🟠 Accused of embezzling $450M from WEX in 2018; potential 20-year U.S. prison sentence.
🟠 Alleged ties to… pic.twitter.com/JoHuPjrZIs— Bitcoinsensus (@Bitcoinsensus) December 8, 2024
In 2022, Interpol arrested him at Zagreb Airport in Croatia in connection with a separate extradition request from Kazakhstan. He was also briefly detained in Italy in 2019, but the extradition request was later found to be flawed.
WEX, which processed over $9 billion in transactions and had over a million users, became notorious for its lack of identity checks and involvement in high-profile crypto hacks, including the Mt. Gox breach.
The exchange is also linked to the mysterious disappearance of approximately $450 million in funds.
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Attacks on Major Centralized Exchanges Ramp Up With Bull Market
Last week, Japanese cryptocurrency exchange DMM Bitcoin announced its closure following a massive security breach in May that resulted in losses of over $300 million.
The incident is part of a wider pattern of growing cyberattacks on centralized exchanges in 2024.
Other significant breaches this year include the $235 million hack of India’s WazirX exchange in July, a $52 million attack on Singapore’s BingX in September, and a $55 million exploit of Turkey’s BtcTurk in June.
In September, the Indonesian cryptocurrency exchange Indodax was hacked, leading to the theft of over $22 million worth of various tokens.
More recently, XT.com, a cryptocurrency exchange based in Seychelles, halted withdrawals after reports surfaced of a potential $1.7 million hack.
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