Alexander
Vinnik,
one
of
the
operators
behind
the
former
BTC-e
crypto
exchange,
pleaded
guilty
to
a
charge
of
conspiring
to
commit
money
laundering
on
Friday,
the
U.S.
Department
of
Justice
announced.
Vinnik
was
an
operator
of
BTC-e
between
2011
and
2017,
the
DOJ
said,
and
the
exchange
processed
more
than
1
million
users
transacting
over
$9
billion
in
crypto
during
that
time.
BTC-e
was
linked
to
the
hack
of
now-defunct
crypto
exchange
Mt.
Gox
after
it
was
used
to
launder
some
300,000
(BTC)
from
Mt.
Gox.
BTC-e
was
shut
down
in
July
2017,
at
the
same
time
Vinnik
was
first
arrested.
While
Vinnik
was
arrested
in
Greece,
he
faced
a
lengthy
extradition
process,
with
U.S.
and
Russian
and
French
authorities
trying
to
convince
Greece
to
send
him
to
their
respective
nations.
France
did
secure
Vinnik’s
extradition
and
sentenced
him
to
five
years
in
prison,
before
Vinnik
was
sent
back
to
Greece
before
eventually
being
extradited
to
the
U.S.
He
initially
denied
he
was
an
operator
of
BTC-e,
saying
he
was
only
an
employee
at
the
exchange.
BTC-e
did
not
register
as
a
money
services
business
in
the
U.S.,
did
not
operate
any
know-your-customer
or
anti-money
laundering
rules
and
did
not
collect
any
customer
data,
the
DOJ
said
Friday.
Vinnik
did
use
shell
companies
to
process
fiat
conversions
for
BTC-e,
the
DOJ
added.
The
press
release
said
the
exchange
did
receive
funds
from
criminal
activities
including
ransomware
attacks,
hacks
and
other
schemes,
and
Vinnik
was
directly
responsible
for
some
$121
million
in
losses.
In
a
statement,
Deputy
Attorney
General
Lisa
Monaco
said,
“Today’s
result
shows
how
the
Justice
Department,
working
with
international
partners,
reaches
across
the
globe
to
combat
cryptocrime.
This
guilty
plea
reflects
the
Department’s
ongoing
commitment
to
use
all
tools
to
fight
money
laundering,
police
crypto
markets,
and
recover
restitution
for
victims.”