Polish authorities have arrested Dmitry V., the former head of the now-defunct Russia-based crypto exchange WEX, following an extradition request from the United States Department of Justice. The arrest, reported on December 6 by Reuters and local Polish outlet Rzeczpospolita, marks the latest in a series of legal actions tied to WEX’s collapse and subsequent fraud allegations.
Dmitry V., whose full identity is withheld under local laws, is accused of engaging in fraud and money laundering during his tenure at WEX, which was once a successor to BTC-e, Russia’s largest crypto exchange before its 2018 shutdown. Polish authorities confirmed that Dmitry V. remains in custody as the extradition process proceeds. If extradited to the United States, he could face charges carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
This is not Dmitry V.’s first encounter with international law enforcement. He was previously arrested in Poland in 2021 but released after 40 days. In 2022, Interpol detained him in Croatia at Zagreb Airport following a separate extradition request from Kazakhstan. In 2019, Italian authorities also arrested him, but procedural errors led to his release.
WEX, which ceased operations in 2018, is alleged to have mishandled or lost around $450 million in user funds. The exchange gained a reputation as a “dark” platform with minimal identity checks and links to high-profile crypto hacks, including those associated with Mt. Gox. At its peak, WEX processed over $9 billion in transactions from more than a million users, including many in the United States.
The arrest follows earlier legal action against Alexander Vinnik, the former head of BTC-e, who pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy to commit money laundering between 2011 and 2017. Vinnik, known as “Mr. Bitcoin,” was arrested in Greece in 2017, extradited to France, and later to the United States in 2022.
The unfolding case against Dmitry V. underscores ongoing efforts by global authorities to address financial crimes within the cryptocurrency sector, particularly involving exchanges accused of facilitating illicit transactions.