Officials arrest suspect in $4 billion Bitcoin money laundering scheme
1–10 of 92 posts
Re: Officials arrest suspect in $4 billion Bitcoin money laundering scheme
#2They should at least say he is the owner of btc-e.com to give it context. The site was used by cyber criminals but it was also a legit operation, much like HSBC.
Re: Officials arrest suspect in $4 billion Bitcoin money laundering scheme
#3They should at least say he is the owner of btc-e.com to give it context. The site was used by cyber criminals but it was also a legit operation, much like HSBC.
I have a feeling that the informed, consenting adults who have funds in that exchange will soon discover exactly why dealing with an unregulated, secretive foreign financial company (Whose owners keep their identities secret, so that they won't be arrested) is a bad idea.
HSBC has none of these properties (Which are more important to their legitimate users.)
Re: Officials arrest suspect in $4 billion Bitcoin money laundering scheme
#4The timing of this and the bitmixer.io [0] voluntary shutdown a few days ago is a bit strange.
Re: Officials arrest suspect in $4 billion Bitcoin money laundering scheme
#5They should at least say he is the owner of btc-e.com to give it context. The site was used by cyber criminals but it was also a legit operation, much like HSBC.
Do you know for sure that this is related to btc-e ? It's the most likely suspect (it is currently 'down for maintenance' and it was started in 2011, the same year mentioned in the AP story), but I can't find any concrete evidence of who the owners of btc-e actually were.
The site has always hidden its origins, and the only information I could find was that the founders' names are supposedly Aleksey and Alexander, based on https://www.coindesk.com/btc-e-recent-issues-caused-surge-us...
Re: Officials arrest suspect in $4 billion Bitcoin money laundering scheme
#6The timing of this and the bitmixer.io [0] voluntary shutdown a few days ago is a bit strange. 0: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14843373
Yes, the takedown of AlphaBay and Hansa darkmarkets, the bitmixer.io shutdown, the arrest of this guy and the BTC-e exchange 'down for maintenance' are all related, I would guess.
The person arrested is allegedly named Alexander Vinnik, according to https://thebitcoinnews.com/alexander-vinnik-admin-btc-e-arre... - but no idea where they got that name from.
Re: Officials arrest suspect in $4 billion Bitcoin money laundering scheme
#7They should at least say he is the owner of btc-e.com to give it context. The site was used by cyber criminals but it was also a legit operation, much like HSBC.
Do you know for sure that this is related to btc-e ? It's the most likely suspect (it is currently 'down for maintenance' and it was started in 2011, the same year mentioned in the AP story), but I can't find any concrete evidence of who the owners of btc-e actually were. The site has always hidden its origins, and the only information I could find was that the founders' names are supposedly Aleksey and Alexander, ba…
Another interesting coincidence - yesterday Forbes published article namedropping BTC-e in a really bad way:
>As for where the criminals are cashing out, 95 per cent of ransom funds were cashed out at the Russian exchange BTC-E. That chimes with the indication that the biggest ransomware types are the produce of the biggest organized criminal gangs working out of Russia.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2017/07/25/googl...
Re: Officials arrest suspect in $4 billion Bitcoin money laundering scheme
#8The timing of this and the bitmixer.io [0] voluntary shutdown a few days ago is a bit strange. 0: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14843373
Yes, the takedown of AlphaBay and Hansa darkmarkets, the bitmixer.io shutdown, the arrest of this guy and the BTC-e exchange 'down for maintenance' are all related, I would guess. The person arrested is allegedly named Alexander Vinnik, according to https://thebitcoinnews.com/alexander-vinnik-admin-btc-e-arre... - but no idea where they got that name from.
"Alexander Vinnik" comes from updated Reuters article (with photo):
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-greece-russia-arrest-idUSK...
Re: Officials arrest suspect in $4 billion Bitcoin money laundering scheme
#9They should at least say he is the owner of btc-e.com to give it context. The site was used by cyber criminals but it was also a legit operation, much like HSBC.
Do you know for sure that this is related to btc-e ? It's the most likely suspect (it is currently 'down for maintenance' and it was started in 2011, the same year mentioned in the AP story), but I can't find any concrete evidence of who the owners of btc-e actually were. The site has always hidden its origins, and the only information I could find was that the founders' names are supposedly Aleksey and Alexander, ba…
The only other possible bitcoin enterprise fitting their description may be bitmixer but I don't think it started in 2011 and I am certain it has not handled $4bn in transactions, btce probably has.
Re: Officials arrest suspect in $4 billion Bitcoin money laundering scheme
#10They should at least say he is the owner of btc-e.com to give it context. The site was used by cyber criminals but it was also a legit operation, much like HSBC.
I have a feeling that the informed, consenting adults who have funds in that exchange will soon discover exactly why dealing with an unregulated, secretive foreign financial company (Whose owners keep their identities secret, so that they won't be arrested) is a bad idea. HSBC has none of these properties (Which are more important to their legitimate users.)
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