Bitcoin Exchange Was a Nexus of Crime, Indictment Says
Criminals who stole or extorted Bitcoin from their victims would transfer the virtual currencies to BTC-E, which would then
convert the virtual currency into traditional currency using a host of bank accounts registered under shell companies.
The indictment, which was unsealed in California on Wednesday, gave a long list of illegal activities
that the Bitcoin exchange, known as BTC-E, facilitated, including ransomware fraud, identity theft, drug trafficking and public corruption.
By NATHANIEL POPPERJULY 27, 2017
A Russian man was charged with overseeing a black market Bitcoin exchange
that helped launder billions of dollars and stood at the nexus of several criminal enterprises, according to a federal indictment.
The stolen Bitcoins were then moved to a different virtual currency exchange, Bitstamp,
and sold for traditional currencies, which were deposited in bank accounts that Mr. Vinnik controlled in Latvia and Cyprus.
The arrest of Mr. Vinnik came shortly after law enforcement authorities in the United States
and Europe took down two big online drug markets in which Bitcoin was the primary currency.
