BTC-e digital currency exchange is charged with cybercrime and online money laundering.
05/02/2024
An indictment was unsealed on Tuesday charging a Belarusian and Cypriot national with money laundering conspiracy and operation of an unlicensed money services business.
Between 2011 and July 2017, Aliaksandr Klimenka, 42, allegedly controlled BTC-e, a digital currency exchange, with Alexander Vinnik and others. Klimenka also allegedly controlled Soft-FX, a technology services company, and FX Open, a financial company. Klimenka was arrested in Latvia on Dec. 21, 2023, at the request of the United States and made his initial appearance in San Francisco yesterday. He is currently being held in custody. If convicted, Klimenka faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.
The indictment
A US indictment alleges BTC-e was a significant cybercrime and online money laundering entity that allowed its users to trade in bitcoin with high levels of anonymity and developed a customer base heavily reliant on criminal activity.
IT IS ALLEGED BTC-e:-
- Facilitated transactions for cybercriminals worldwide and received criminal proceeds from numerous computer intrusions and hacking incidents, ransomware scams, identity theft schemes, corrupt public officials, narcotics distribution rings, and
- Was used to facilitate crimes ranging from computer hacking to fraud, identity theft, tax refund fraud schemes, public corruption, and drug trafficking.
BTC-e’s servers, maintained in the United States, were allegedly one of the primary ways in which BTC-e and its operators effectuated their scheme. Klimenka and Soft-FX leased and maintained those servers.
Despite doing substantial business in the United States, BTC-e allegedly
- Was not registered as a money services business with the U.S. Department of Treasury,
- Had no anti-money laundering process,
- No system for appropriate “know your customer” or “KYC” verification, and
- No anti-money laundering program
Source
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As well as owning and publishing Comsure's copyrighted works, Comsure wishes to use the copyright-protected works of others. To do so, Comsure is applying for exemptions in the UK copyright law. There are certain very specific situations where Comsure is permitted to do so without seeking permission from the owner. These exemptions are in the copyright sections of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended)[www.gov.UK/government/publications/copyright-acts-and-related-laws]. Many situations allow for Comsure to apply for exemptions. These include 1] Non-commercial research and private study, 2] Criticism, review and reporting of current events, 3] the copying of works in any medium as long as the use is to illustrate a point. 4] no posting is for commercial purposes [payment]. (for a full list of exemptions, please read here www.gov.uk/guidance/exceptions-to-copyright]. Concerning the exceptions, Comsure will acknowledge the work of the source author by providing a link to the source material. Comsure claims no ownership of non-Comsure content. The non-Comsure articles posted on the Comsure website are deemed important, relevant, and newsworthy to a Comsure audience (e.g. regulated financial services and professional firms [DNFSBs]). Comsure does not wish to take any credit for the publication, and the publication can be read in full in its original form if you click the articles link that always accompanies the news item. Also, Comsure does not seek any payment for highlighting these important articles. If you want any article removed, Comsure will automatically do so on a reasonable request if you email info@comsuregroup.com.