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The Russian Embassy in Washington DC has requested that the US State Department furnish Moscow with updates regarding Dmitry Vasiliev, the former CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange WEX.
The Russian state-owned news agency TASS reported that the press service of the diplomatic mission confirmed it had submitted a formal inquiry to the department.
The service indicated that the embassy was “closely monitoring the situation surrounding Dmitry Vasiliev.” It highlighted that Polish courts had extradited the Russian national at the behest of US authorities. A spokesperson stated:
“We have requested that information regarding Vasiliev’s whereabouts, health status, and procedural situation be provided as soon as possible.”
Russian Embassy: We Seek Updates on Vasiliev
The service also insisted that Russian consular officials be permitted to meet with Vasiliev in accordance with the 1964 Bilateral Consular Convention.
Vasiliev and others established WEX as a successor to the BTC-e exchange, which ceased operations in 2018. The closure left numerous customers unable to access fiat and cryptocurrencies valued at nearly $0.5 billion.
The embassy stated that upon receiving information about Vasiliev, it would “immediately reach out to him and provide the necessary consular and legal support.”
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The Russian Embassy in Washington DC in 2020. (Source: Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs [CC BY 4.0])
Vasiliev’s legal representatives at the European Court of Human Rights informed Russian journalists last month that Polish authorities had deported their client from Warsaw in 2024.
At that time, Vasiliev was sought by the United States. Prosecutors allege he orchestrated a criminal fraud and money laundering operation.
The attorneys stated that Vasiliev was extradited to the US “as part of a criminal case involving [the former BTC-e finance chief] Alexander Vinnik.”
US prosecutors accused Vinnik of laundering between $4 billion and $9 billion through the now-defunct BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange. He was arrested by Greek police in 2017 and subsequently extradited to the US in August 2022.
In February of this year, Vinnik was released in a prisoner exchange for American teacher Marc Fogel. Shortly thereafter, US prosecutors dropped all charges against him.
Explainer: Konstantin Strukov, the Russian gold billionaire facing Russian asset seizure https://t.co/YHndecOkJE https://t.co/YHndecOkJE
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The legal team added that Vasiliev could potentially face a sentence of up to 25 years in prison. Prosecutors have filed two distinct charges against the former exchange chief, according to the lawyers.
The post Russian Embassy Demands US State Dept. Provide Updates on WEX CEO Dmitry Vasiliev appeared first on Cryptonews.
