The Russian prosecutor has applied to seize nearly $30 million in assets related to the former investigator involved in the WEX "cryptocurrency bribery" case
According to DL News, Russian prosecutors are seeking to confiscate a large amount of luxury assets belonging to fugitive secret service officer Georgy Satyukov. He is accused of receiving $184 million worth of Bitcoin and $30 million worth of Ethereum as bribes from the operator of the now-defunct WEX cryptocurrency exchange, while investigators have identified assets valued at $29.6 million related to Satyukov's alleged bribery.Prosecutors claim that Satyukov used the illicit funds to purchase 13 apartments in Russia, several non-residential properties in St. Petersburg, a villa in the UAE, and a million-dollar property in Saratov registered in his brother's name.Additionally, the investigation revealed that he owns two Porsche Cayenne Turbos, seven Patek Philippe watches, and other jewelry worth over $1.3 million, with more than $15 million in cash and foreign currency still in his family bank accounts.It is alleged that the bribes originated from Alexey Ivanov, a former system administrator of the WEX exchange, who sought Satyukov's help to evade a criminal investigation. Satyukov and his former colleague Dmitry Sokolov are currently fugitives, and a Moscow court is preparing to conduct a trial in absentia. If convicted, their assets may be nationalized. The WEX exchange took over the trading operations of BTC-e in 2017, which had shut down after its founder Alexander Vinnik was arrested in Greece on fraud and money laundering charges, and WEX also ceased operations in 2018.
