Russian ’cryptocurrency king’ in custody: Polish court to decide whether to extradite him to the US
The court has arrested Dmitry V., who was detained in Warsaw and prosecuted by the US for fraud while running one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, for 60 days.
The 37-year-old was detained by the so-called shadow hunters from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBŚP) ( as reported by "Rzeczpospolita" ) in an apartment in the Wola district of Warsaw. The request for his extradition was submitted to the Polish authorities by the US Department of Justice, and the reason is the gigantic abuses that Dmitry V. allegedly committed in connection with the management of WEX - the largest Russian cryptocurrency exchange (it declared bankruptcy in 2018).
As "Rzeczpospolita" has established, the proceedings are pending before the Warsaw court at the request of the American party. - The documentation sent by the requesting country indicated that the person sought had committed a crime classified under American law under Title 18 of the United States Code, Sections 1960 and 2, and Title 18 of the United States Code, Section 1956, which could be an equivalent of the Polish provision of Article 299, paragraphs 1 and 5 of the Penal Code - answers Judge Anna Ptaszek, spokeswoman for the District Court in Warsaw.
District Court Arrests Dmitry V. Risk of Escape of the “King of Cryptocurrencies”
This concerns illegal transfers – money laundering in agreement with other people, which in Poland is punishable by up to ten years of imprisonment (in the USA, the crimes V. is accused of are punishable by up to 20 years).
He has been in custody since the end of November. He is to remain there for 60 days. The district court found that if free, V. could "seriously hinder the extradition proceedings" (the court of appeal, to which V.’s defense attorney appealed, upheld the detention).
- There is a justified fear of escape or hiding and thus hindering the proceedings related to the extradition of the suspect to the authorities of the United States of America - Judge Anna Ptaszek tells "Rzeczpospolita". - Moreover, the use of this measure was justified by the threat of a severe penalty for such an act in the territory of both the USA and Poland - she indicates.
The court ordered the temporary arrest because there is a justified fear that the suspect will flee or hide, thereby hindering the proceedings related to the extradition of the suspect to the authorities of the United States of America.
Judge Anna Ptaszek, spokeswoman of the District Court in Warsaw
Around USD 450 million was supposed to have disappeared from the WEX cryptocurrency exchange managed by Dmitry V. And he himself (as "Gazeta Wyborcza" wrote in 2021) was associated "with people in the Kremlin who used WEX to launder money and finance the attack on Ukraine." The BBC reported at the time that the Russian FSB may be behind the disappearance of funds from the cryptocurrency exchange.
Dmitry V., wanted by the Kazakh authorities with an Interpol red notice
V.’s current arrest in Poland is the second in recent years. The first took place in 2021 at the airport in Warsaw, where he was detained by Border Guard officers (he had been wanted by Kazakh authorities since 2019 for fraud related to the cryptocurrency exchange). Then he was also taken to a Polish detention center (his defense attorney requested an annulment and offered PLN 4 million as bail), but he left after 47 days. "Rzeczpospolita" learned what the reason was.
It turns out that the district court ruled at the time that the extradition of the man wanted by the so-called Interpol red notice was "legally inadmissible". - The basis for the ruling at that time was the finding of negative premises from art. 604 § 1 points 5 and 7 of the Code of Criminal Procedure - explains Judge Ptaszek.
This is a provision that states that a wanted person cannot be extradited if it would be contrary to Polish law and if there is a fear that the country requesting extradition may result in a "violation of the freedoms and rights" of such a person. Now the United States is demanding the extradition of Dmitry V., so there is no such threat.
The court is waiting for the US authorities to send it an extradition request and a request from the Polish prosecutor’s office regarding the legal admissibility of extraditing the wanted man (the prosecutor has until December 16 of this year, the day his arrest expires). Then the court will set a date for the extradition hearing.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
