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The Infraud Bitcoin bribery trial has concluded, resulting in a Russian court sentencing a former high-ranking federal agency detective to 16 years in prison.
According to Izvestia, the Balashikha City Court in the Moscow Oblast found both former Investigative Committee detective Marat Tambiev and his assistant Kristina Lyakhovenko guilty of accepting bribes from credit card fraudsters.
Infraud Bitcoin Case: ‘The Largest Bribe in Contemporary Russian History’
Legal experts in Russia have previously described this prominent case as “the largest bribe in contemporary Russian history.”
The Infraud Organization was an international cybercrime syndicate that operated from October 2010 to February 2018, focusing on credit card fraud, commonly referred to as “carding.”
Tambiev speaks to reporters during his trial in the Moscow Oblast. (Source: Rossiya 24/Screenshot)
Tambiev is set to serve 16 years in a high-security penal colony, while Lyakhovenko received a nine-year sentence in a “general” penal facility.
The court was informed that Tambiev accepted a bribe of BTC 1,032 from a member of the Infraud gang, agreeing not to seize the group’s Bitcoin assets.
Tambiev, a former major in the Investigative Committee, denied all allegations in court, claiming he had been set up.
Nonetheless, the court ruled against him, revoking his official rank and imposing a fine exceeding $5 million.
As part of the arrangement, Tambiev consented to refrain from confiscating the group’s “illegally acquired bitcoin assets.”
He “subsequently received half of the illicit assets on April 7, 2022,” prosecutors stated during the trial.
Tambiev during his days as an Investigative Committee detective.
Lyakhovenko was also stripped of her rank (senior lieutenant) and prohibited from “holding positions in Russian government bodies for eight years.”
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She was found guilty of “fabricating evidence in a criminal case” and “bribery.”
“Tambiyev received part of [the bribe] by prior agreement with investigator Lyakhovenko, who falsified evidence in the criminal case.”
Russian Prosecutor General’s Office
“This is now about preparing for a high-intensity conflict, perhaps against Russia, perhaps against China, but basically it’s a state-on-state clash.”
On “The Intelligence” the US Army’s chief of staff talks to @shashj about gearing up for a new age https://t.co/jLMxBtwGYQ— The Economist (@TheEconomist) October 9, 2024
Lawyer Facilitated BTC Payments, According to Prosecutors
The court learned that in 2020, the investigator encountered a lawyer named Roman Meyer, who “represented the interests” of Infraud members Mark and Konstantin Bergman and Kirill Samokuteyav.
Prosecutors indicated that Tambiev solicited bribes from Meyer. Tambiev later “assisted in initiating a criminal case against thieves who broke into Mark Bergman’s apartment.”
Last year, investigators discovered the private keys to Tambiev’s Bitcoin holdings on a work computer in a folder he had labeled “Pension.”
Prosecutors also informed the court that when the hackers were charged in 2021, their case was assigned to Lieutenant Lyakhovenko.
Russia’s move to ban Discord, an instant messaging platform popular among gamers and programmers, sparked a backlash from military bloggers who say it’s used by drone operators at the front in the war on Ukraine https://t.co/segRz7czGs
— Bloomberg (@business) October 9, 2024
‘Bitcoin Pension Fund’
During the investigation, it was reported that BTC 5,212 “was seized.” However, Tambiev then proposed to his colleague that they “split the funds in half,” according to the prosecution.
In return for the bribes, prosecution officials stated, the hackers were “spared detention in favor of house arrest.”
Tambiev also instructed junior staff to take actions that were “aimed at preventing the seizure of the hackers’ assets,” prosecutors concluded.
Lawyers informed Izvestia that criminal cases involving Bitcoin and altcoins were “on the rise.” They indicated that courts should prepare for more “similar” cases in the upcoming months and years.
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