As recently reported past times CCN, a 38-year-old Russian homo was lately arrested inwards Greece. The man, Alexander Vinnik, is defendant of laundering $4 billion worth of ill-gotten bitcoins, as well as was allegedly running “one of the almost of import websites of electronic offense inwards the world.”
Alexander Vinnik was likewise institute to endure a suspect inwards the Mt Gox hack, equally fifty-fifty independent safety squad WizSec revealed through an proclamation he was their prime number suspect for the interest inwards the theft as well as subsequent money laundering.
It was likewise revealed that the website was the cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e. The telephone substitution went downwardly earlier intelligence of the arrest started spreading, as well as justified its downtime amongst “unplanned maintenance”, as well as after on stated it would get got 5-10 days for it to come upwards dorsum up. Most users straightaway believe that BTC-e is gone for practiced equally visiting its website shows us that the domain has been seized past times authorities. When trying to access the website, this is what nosotros get:
Various users questioned whether the U.S. get got whatever jurisdiction over the BTC-e exchange to seize it. Alexander Vinnik was a Russian homo who was arrested inwards Greece, as well as BTC-e was registered inwards New Zealand. What Will Happen to User Funds Left on BTC-e?
CCN lately covered that Alexander has been indicted past times a U.S. grand jury, as well as that he may before long endure extradited to the U.S. Amid all of this, however, it remains unclear what volition move on to client funds – after all, innocent users shouldn’t pay for individual else’s actions. A recent Change.org petition urges the Department of Justice (DOJ) to plow over users their money dorsum from the telephone substitution or to allow them to access them again, as well as hence they won’t lose everything they had inwards there. Some fifty-fifty stated how they earned their coins to farther test their innocence. At press time, the petition has 731 supporters, as well as the divulge keeps on increasing equally its shared through social media. The petition’s text reads:
Hi, a few days agone a crypto currency telephone substitution has been shutdown past times the U.S. regime as well as a lot of innocent people lost a lot of money inwards the process.
We require our money back!
Various users get got pointed out that authorities managed to seize BTC-e’s domain and, equally such, presumably likewise seized user’s funds. Others pointed to suspicious transactions, equally individual may endure getting away amongst a fortune worth of bitcoin piece almost await at Alexander Vinnik’s case.
So far, what volition move on to the cryptocurrencies users had at BTC-e remains a mystery. Likely, the DOJ may enquire users to test their money was acquired legally as well as hence they tin get got it back, as well as after on auction off the rest.
Some users get got stated that BTC-e.nz, the platform’s New Zealand portal, industrial plant from fourth dimension to fourth dimension as well as allows users to access their funds.
Featured picture from Shutterstock.
