New Zealand police said Monday they have seized $90 million from Alexander Vinnik, a Russian bitcoin fraud suspect who is in French custody but is also wanted in the United States.
New Zealand Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said it had worked closely with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service in the case. He said the money likely reflected illicit profits from thousands of victims.
The money is the most ever seized by New Zealand police.
The U.S. has accused Vinnik of laundering billions of dollars through BTC-e, one of the world´s largest digital currency exchanges. His native Russia also wants to put him on trial. Vinnik says he acted as a technical consultant to the BTC-e platform and had no knowledge of any illegal activity.
Vinnik was arrested in the summer of 2017 while on a family holiday in northern Greece, at the request of U.S. authorities.
After a two-year legal tug-of-war, Vinnik was extradited from Greece to France. French officials in January filed preliminary charges of money laundering and extortion against Vinnick.
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said in a statement on Monday that “the money is linked to the Canton Business Corporation and its owner Alexander Vinnik, who was holding funds in a New Zealand company.
“Canton and Vinnik previously operated cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e.”
New Zealand police alleged that U.S.-based BTC-e had no anti-money laundering controls and policies, which allowed cyber criminals to launder proceeds from criminal activities.
“These funds are likely to reflect the profit gained from the victimisation of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of people globally as a result of cyber-crime and organized crime,’’ Coster said.
Coster said given the global nature of money laundering, there is always a risk that New Zealand companies will inadvertently become involved.
“However, this restraint demonstrates that New Zealand is not, and will not be, a safe haven for the illicit proceeds generated from crime in other parts of the world,’’ Coster said.
According to him, an investigation is ongoing, pending an application to the High Court seeking forfeiture of the funds.
The funds currently frozen mark the largest restraint of funds ever by New Zealand Police.
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