Gotbit Founder Aleksei Andriunin Extradied to U.S. on Fraud Charges
Gotbit founder Aleksei Andriunin, a 26-year-old Russian national, was extradited to the U.S. on Tuesday to face fraud charges stemming from allegations that his firm participated in a 'wide-ranging conspiracy' to manipulate token prices for paying client cryptocurrency companies, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a press release on Wednesday.
Andriunin was arrested in Portugal last October and subsequently indicted by a Boston grand jury on charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit market manipulation and wire fraud, charges which carry a combined maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. The indictment also charged Gotbit itself, as well as two of its directors, Fedor Kedrov and Qawi Jalili, both also of Russia.
Between 2018 and 2024, prosecutors say that Gotbit essentially provided market manipulation services for hire, offering their token price-inflating services to a variety of crypto companies, including companies based in the U.S.
Andriunin was not shy about the nature of Gotbit's services – in a 2019 interview with CoinDesk, which is referenced in the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Wednesday announcement, Andriunin, then a sophomore at Moscow State University, bluntly admitted that his business was 'not entirely ethical.'
Read more: For $15K He'll Fake Your Exchange Volume – You'll Get on CoinMarketCap
According to court documents, Gotbit received 'tens of millions of dollars in proceeds' from their fraudulent activity. Andriunin is accused of 'transferr[ing] millions of dollars of Gotbit's proceeds into his personal Binance account.'
Andriunin made an initial appearance before a Boston judge on Tuesday. His next hearing has not yet been scheduled.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
UPI
12 hours ago
- UPI
Ukraine repatriates 1,200 civilian, military remains
A Ukrainian prisoner of war reacts following a prisoner swap at an undisclosed location in Ukraine on Saturday. Photo by Stringer/EPA-EFE June 14 (UPI) -- Russia and Ukraine exchanged an unreported number of prisoners of war on Saturday during the fourth such exchange during the week. Ukraine also received the bodies of 1,200 dead civilians and military personnel from Russia. The bodies are in addition to 2,412 that were sent to Ukraine on Wednesday and Friday and are being released per agreements reached during recent negotiations in Istanbul, the Kyiv Independent reported. "The remains will now undergo forensic examination and identification procedures conducted by law enforcement investigators in cooperation with expert institutions under the [Ukrainian] Interior Ministry," officials for the Coordination Headquarters Prisoners of War said in a prepared statement. Identifying the bodies enables respective Ukrainian families to recover them for burial. Ukrainian and Russian officials agreed to exchange the bodies of 6,000 soldiers and civilians for each side for a total exchange of 12,000 bodies. Although the two nations agreed to exchange bodies, Russian officials said Ukraine did not return 1,200 bodies during Saturday's exchange. Russia and Ukraine are also exchanging prisoners of war who need medical care. Ukraine has transferred wounded Russian soldiers who have been captured, including many who were transferred directly from the frontlines. As cease-fire negotiations continue to end the war that began when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has continued to strike Ukraine with drone attacks. Russia is on pace to strike Ukraine with nearly 7,000 drones, which would exceed the record number of 4,198 drones launched against Ukrainian military and civilian targets in March. "This is terrorism against the civilian population aimed to create a series of doom, war-weariness and to put pressure on the [Ukrainian] authorities," Liveuamap co-founder Rodion Rozhkovskiy told the Kyiv Independent. While the war in Ukraine and related negotiations continue in Istanbul, Russian President Vladimir Putin called President Donald Trump on Saturday to wish him a happy birthday and discuss matters in Iran during the one-hour call. "We talked at length," Trump said in a White House statement issued after the phone call ended. "Much less time was spent talking about Russia/Ukraine, but that will be for next week," Trump said. He said Putin knows Iran "very well" and agreed the war between Israel and Iran should end. Trump said he told Putin, "his war should also end" in Ukraine. The president did not offer more details on his conversation with Putin. Russian forces on Friday captured the Ukrainian village of Yablunivka, which is located in northeastern Ukraine and about 5 miles from the border between the two nations, Russian officials announced on Saturday. Russian forces also reportedly captured the villages of Koptevo and Komar in the eastern Donetsk region in Ukraine and six in total over the past week.
Los Angeles Times
13 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Zelensky warns oil price surge could help Russia's war effort
KYIV, Ukraine — A sharp rise in global oil prices following Israeli strikes on Iran will benefit Russia and bolster its military capabilities in the war in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in comments that were under embargo until Saturday afternoon. Speaking to journalists Friday in Kyiv, Zelensky said the surge in oil prices threatens Ukraine's position on the battlefield, especially because Western allies have not enforced effective price caps on Russian oil exports. 'The strikes led to a sharp increase in the price of oil, which is negative for us,' Zelensky said. 'The Russians are getting stronger due to greater income from oil exports.' Global oil prices rose as much as 7% after Israel and Iran exchanged attacks over the previous 48 hours, raising concerns that further escalation in the region could disrupt oil exports from the Middle East. Zelensky said he planned to raise the issue in an upcoming conversation with President Trump. 'In the near future, I will be in contact with the American side, I think with the president, and we will raise this issue,' he said. Zelensky also expressed concern that U.S. military aid could be diverted away from Ukraine toward Israel amid the worsening conflict in the Middle East. 'We would like aid to Ukraine not to decrease because of this,' he said. 'Last time, this was a factor that slowed down aid to Ukraine.' Ukraine's military needs have been sidelined by the United States in favor of supporting Israel, Zelensky said, citing a shipment of 20,000 interceptor missiles, designed to counter Iran-made Shahed drones, that had been intended for Ukraine but were redirected to Israel. 'And for us it was a blow,' he said. 'When you face 300 to 400 drones a day, most are shot down or go off course, but some get through. We were counting on those missiles.' An air defense system, Barak-8, promised to Ukraine by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was sent to the U.S. for repairs but never delivered to Ukraine, Zelensky said. The Ukrainian president conceded that momentum for the Coalition of the Willing, a group of 31 countries that have pledged to strengthen support for Ukraine against Russian aggression, has slowed because of U.S. ambivalence over providing a backstop. 'This situation has shown that Europe has not yet decided for itself that it will be with Ukraine completely if America is not there,' he said. The offer of a foreign troop 'reassurance force' pledged by the 'coalition of the willing' was still on the table, 'but they need a backstop, as they say, from America,' Zelensky said. 'This means that suddenly, if something happens, America will be with them and with Ukraine.' The Ukrainian president also said the presence of foreign contingents in Ukraine would act as a security guarantee and allow Kyiv to make territorial compromises, which is the first time he has articulated a link between the reassurance force and concessions Kyiv is willing to make in negotiations with Russia. 'It is simply that their presence gives us the opportunity to compromise, when we can say that today our state does not have the strength to take our territories within the borders of 1991,' he said. But Europe and Ukraine are still waiting on strong signals from Trump. Without crushing U.S. sanctions against Russia, 'I will tell you frankly, it will be very difficult for us,' Zelensky said, adding that it would then fall on Europe to step up military aid to Ukraine. In other developments, Russia repatriated more bodies of fallen soldiers in line with an agreement reached during peace talks in Istanbul between Russian and Ukrainian delegations, Russian officials said Saturday, cited by Russian state media. The officials said Ukraine did not return any bodies to Russia on Saturday. Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War confirmed in a statement that Russia returned 1,200 bodies. Ukraine and Russia also exchanged another group of ill and severely wounded servicemen on Saturday, officials from both countries said, although the sides did not report the numbers. Zelensky said in a post on X that the Ukrainian servicemen who returned were members of the armed forces, the National Guard, the State Border Guard Service and the State Transport Special Service. The first round of the staggered exchanges took place Monday. The agreement to exchange prisoners of war and the bodies of fallen soldiers was the only tangible outcome of the June 2 Istanbul talks. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump held a 50-minute phone call Saturday to discuss the escalating situation in the Middle East and Ukraine peace talks, Putin's foreign affairs advisor Yuri Ushakov said. According to Ushakov, Putin told Trump about the implementation of the agreements during peace talks in Istanbul between Russian and Ukrainian delegations, including the exchange of prisoners of war. 'Our president noted that an exchange of prisoners of war is taking place, including seriously wounded and prisoners of war under 25 years of age,' said Ushakov, adding that Putin also expressed readiness to continue negotiations with the Ukrainians. Trump, he said, 'noted his interest in a speedy end to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.' Continuing a renewed battlefield push along eastern and northeastern parts of the more than 600-mile front line, the Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday that its troops captured another village in the Donetsk region, Zelenyi Kut. The Ukrainian military had no immediate comment on the Russian claim. Russia launched 58 drones and decoys at Ukraine overnight into Saturday, according to the Ukrainian air force, which said its air defenses destroyed 23 drones while another 20 were jammed. A 45-year-old man was killed when a Russian drone dropped explosives in the Kherson region Saturday, Ukraine's prosecutor general's office said. Russia's Defense Ministry said it shot down 66 Ukrainian drones overnight. Attacks have continued despite discussions of a potential ceasefire in the war. During the June 2 talks in Istanbul, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators traded memorandums containing sharply divergent conditions that both sides see as nonstarters, making a quick deal unlikely. Kullab writes for the Associated Press.
Newsweek
15 hours ago
- Newsweek
Putin's Oil Empire Gets Double Boost
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The U.S. will not back an EU proposal to impose a price cap on Russian oil that seeks to curb revenues for Russian President Vladimir Putin's war machine, according to Bloomberg. Russia could also benefit from the spike in oil prices following Israel's attack on Iran, a major producer of the commodity. Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment. A fuel tank farm of Russian oil pipeline giant Transneft on December 13, 2023. A fuel tank farm of Russian oil pipeline giant Transneft on December 13, It Matters Revenues from fossil fuels form the core of Russia's fiscal planning. As well as targeting Russia's natural gas, the European Commission's 18th sanctions package proposed lowering the cap on seaborne Russian oil from $60 to $45. The EU measures, which also target Russian businesses and banking, requires the backing of all 27 members. The proposal on Russian oil would need the support of the G7, which meets later this month. Bloomberg's report that Washington will not back the move deals a blow to Western hopes of limiting Moscow's means to fund its aggression in Ukraine, especially after oil prices rose following hostilities between Israel and Iran. What To Know The G7 introduced the $60-a-barrel cap that restricts the price Russia can earn from its seaborne oil. But it has not been effective in curbing the Kremlin's revenues since coming into effect in February 2023, partly because of Moscow's sanctions-busting "shadow fleet" of older vessels and a slump in oil prices. The European Commission proposed this week to drop the cap to $45, with High Representative Kaja Kallas suggesting that because Russian oil mostly transits the Baltic and Black Seas, U.S. support for the measure is not essential. An accord involving all G7 nations would be more effective because of the strength of U.S. enforcement, but the U.S. opposes dropping the price cap, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources. Russian President Vladimir Putin at the St. George's Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace on June 12. Russian President Vladimir Putin at the St. George's Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace on June 12. Oil prices surged following Israel's strikes against Iran, and West Texas Intermediate crude futures advanced by more than 7 percent to settle near $73 a barrel, the biggest one-day jump since March 2022. The Institute for the Study of War said on Friday that the oil price rise may increase Russian revenue from oil sales and improve Russia's ability to sustain its war effort in Ukraine, delivering a boost to Putin. The Washington, D.C., think tank said Moscow might be able to leverage sudden oil price rises to weather economic challenges and finance a protracted war in Ukraine. This is notable given the concerns Putin previously voiced that any reduction in the oil price would likely risk destabilizing Russia's economy. Nikos Tzabouras, a senior market analyst at told Newsweek that although prices are set to rise, sustained hikes would require disruption to supply chains, and the U.S.'s denial of involvement in Israel's strikes keeps hope alive for a contained conflict, keeping downward pressure on oil. A sustained upside would require actual disruptions to physical flows, such as damage to Iran's oil infrastructure or a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a key global chokepoint, Tzabouras added. What People Are Saying The Institute for the Study of War said in a report on Friday: "Oil price increases following Israeli strikes against Iran may increase Russian revenue from oil sales and improve Russia's ability to sustain its war effort in Ukraine." Nikos Tzabouras, a senior market analyst at told Newsweek: "The U.S. denial of involvement offers a possible off-ramp, keeping hopes alive for a contained conflict and continuation of nuclear talks, which could pressure oil." Allen Good, the director of equity research at Morningstar, told Newsweek: "We expect, absent a wider war, today's rise in prices will likely prove to be a sell-the-news event. Oil markets remain amply supplied with OPEC set on increasing production and demand soft." What Happens Next The G7 summit is expected to discuss the oil price cap proposal when it meets in Alberta, Canada, from Sunday. The EU may try to proceed with the measure even if the U.S. rejects the proposal. U.S. President Donald Trump and his officials will make the final decision, Bloomberg reported. Meanwhile, markets continued to eye the effects the hostilities between Iran and Israel are having on oil prices.
