Russian authorities begin liquidating 1 billion rubles in Bitcoin in landmark bribery case

Key Takeaways

Russian bailiffs are within the means of transferring Bitcoin from Marat Tambiev to state income.
The case includes the confiscation of 1,032.1 BTC, marking a major crypto bribery scandal in Russia.

Russian bailiffs are within the means of liquidating greater than 1,032 Bitcoin, price roughly one billion rubles, seized from Marat Tambiev, a former investigator of the Russian Investigative Committee who was convicted in a high-profile crypto bribery case, TASS reported Thursday.

Tambiev, who beforehand served as a chief investigator within the Tver District of Moscow, was discovered responsible of accepting 1,032 BTC as a bribe to guard the pursuits of Infraud Group, the hacking group he was investigating.

The previous investigator was accused of negotiating a take care of members of this group, the place he accepted Bitcoin in alternate for not confiscating their illegally obtained belongings.

Authorities discovered the Bitcoin stash saved on Tambiev’s laptop and units (a Ledger Nano X {hardware} pockets) throughout a search of his condominium in Moscow. The Bitcoin was later seized as a part of a courtroom ruling by the Nikulinsky Court docket of Moscow in 2023.

Final October, Tambiev was sentenced to 16 years in jail and fined 500 million rubles (roughly $5.2 million) for his actions. He has additionally been stripped of his rank and is prohibited from holding any authorities positions for 12 years following his launch.

His former subordinate, Kristina Lyakhovenko, obtained a 9-year sentence in a basic regime penal colony for accepting bribes and different prices. A 3rd defendant, Dmitry Gubin, former deputy head of the investigative division for the Tverskoy District, stays at giant.

In accordance with TASS, along with the Bitcoin already being seized, the Prosecutor Normal’s Workplace filed one other lawsuit to grab extra of Tambiev’s property, together with a motorbike, actual property, and extra Bitcoin, as they consider he acquired it by means of unlawful means.