New Zealand police yesterday said they have seized US$90 million from Alexander Vinnik, a Russian bitcoin fraud suspect who is in French custody, but is also wanted in the US.
New Zealand Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said the police had worked closely with the US Internal Revenue Service in the case.
He said the money likely reflected illicit profits from thousands of victims.
Photo: AP
The money is the most ever seized by New Zealand police.
The US has accused Vinnik of laundering billions of dollars through BTC-e, one of the world’s largest digital currency exchanges.
His native Russia also wants to put him on trial.
Vinnik said he had acted as a technical consultant to the BTC-e platform and had no knowledge of any illegal activity.
Vinnik was arrested in the summer of 2017 while on a family holiday in northern Greece, at the request of US authorities.
After a two-year legal tug-of-war, Vinnik was extradited from Greece to France. French officials in January filed preliminary charges of money laundering and extortion against Vinnik.
He denies any wrongdoing and was on hunger strike for 35 days to protest his extradition to France.
He wanted to go to Russia instead, where he faces lesser charges.
Vinnik’s lawyer said her client was hospitalized upon arrival in France because of the hunger strike.
Greek authorities had ruled that Vinnik should be extradited first to France, then to the US and finally to Russia.
New Zealand police said they had restrained NZ$140 million (US$90.32 million) from Canton Business Corp and its owner, Vinnik, who were holding funds in a New Zealand company.
New Zealand prides itself on the ease of doing business and setting up companies, although it has sometimes been targeted by criminals from abroad, who create shell companies.
Coster said there was always a risk that New Zealand companies would be used in international money laundering.
“However, this restraint demonstrates that New Zealand is not, and will not be, a safe haven for the illicit proceeds generated from crime in other parts of the world,” Coster said in a statement.
New Zealand’s companies register shows that Vinnik owned a company called WME Capital Management from 2008 until 2012, although the register does not list him as a shareholder in any companies beyond that date.
New Zealand police froze the money, and plan to apply to the High Court to have the funds forfeited.
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