Latest news with #AlekseiAndriunin
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Russian cryptocurrency firm founder avoids further US prison time for fraud
BOSTON, June 12 (Reuters) - A Russian-born founder of a cryptocurrency financial services firm avoided having to spend any further time in a U.S. prison on Thursday for participating in a wide-ranging scheme to manipulate the market for digital tokens on behalf of his company's clients. Federal prosecutors in Boston had argued that Aleksei Andriunin, the founder and CEO of cryptocurrency "market maker" Gotbit, deserved a 15-month prison sentence after he pleaded guilty in March to charges that he conspired to commit market manipulation and engaged in wire fraud. Instead, U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley sentenced him to just eight months in prison, which he was deemed to have already served based on the time he spent in jail following his arrest in October in Portugal, prosecutors said. Portugal extradited him in February. He now faces deportation. His company Gotbit was meanwhile ordered to forfeit $23 million worth of cryptocurrency as part of a separate plea deal. "We're incredibly gratified by the sentence, and he's looking forward to getting home to his wife and family," Roger Burlingame, his lawyer at Dechert, said. Andriunin and Gotbit were among 15 people and three firms charged last year following a novel investigation dubbed "Operation Token Mirrors," in which the FBI for the first time directed the creation of its own digital token to help catch fraudsters in the crypto market. Before the charges were filed, Gotbit was a premier "market maker" in the cryptocurrency industry, making tens of millions of dollars in annual revenue and employing over 200 people, prosecutors said. Prosecutors said that from 2018 to 2024, Gotbit engaged in "wash trading," a form of sham trading, and market manipulation on behalf of several cryptocurrency clients to help artificially inflate trading volume for their tokens. Prosecutors cited a 2019 interview published online in which Andriunin described developing a code to wash trade cryptocurrencies to artificially inflate trading volume so they could become listed on larger cryptocurrency exchanges.
The Star
2 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Russian cryptocurrency firm founder avoids further US prison time for fraud
BOSTON (Reuters) -A Russian-born founder of a cryptocurrency financial services firm avoided having to spend any further time in a U.S. prison on Thursday for participating in a wide-ranging scheme to manipulate the market for digital tokens on behalf of his company's clients. Federal prosecutors in Boston had argued that Aleksei Andriunin, the founder and CEO of cryptocurrency "market maker" Gotbit, deserved a 15-month prison sentence after he pleaded guilty in March to charges that he conspired to commit market manipulation and engaged in wire fraud. Instead, U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley sentenced him to just eight months in prison, which he was deemed to have already served based on the time he spent in jail following his arrest in October in Portugal, prosecutors said. Portugal extradited him in February. He now faces deportation. His company Gotbit was meanwhile ordered to forfeit $23 million worth of cryptocurrency as part of a separate plea deal. "We're incredibly gratified by the sentence, and he's looking forward to getting home to his wife and family," Roger Burlingame, his lawyer at Dechert, said. Andriunin and Gotbit were among 15 people and three firms charged last year following a novel investigation dubbed "Operation Token Mirrors," in which the FBI for the first time directed the creation of its own digital token to help catch fraudsters in the crypto market. Before the charges were filed, Gotbit was a premier "market maker" in the cryptocurrency industry, making tens of millions of dollars in annual revenue and employing over 200 people, prosecutors said. Prosecutors said that from 2018 to 2024, Gotbit engaged in "wash trading," a form of sham trading, and market manipulation on behalf of several cryptocurrency clients to help artificially inflate trading volume for their tokens. Prosecutors cited a 2019 interview published online in which Andriunin described developing a code to wash trade cryptocurrencies to artificially inflate trading volume so they could become listed on larger cryptocurrency exchanges. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
Khaleej Times
21-03-2025
- Business
- Khaleej Times
Crypto firm CEO pleads guilty to market manipulation, fraud charges
The founder of a cryptocurrency financial services firm pleaded guilty on Friday to US charges that he participated in a wide-ranging scheme to manipulate the market for digital tokens on behalf of client companies. Aleksei Andriunin, the founder and CEO of cryptocurrency "market maker" Gotbit, and his company entered guilty pleas in federal court in Boston to charges that they conspired to commit market manipulation and committed wire fraud. The pleas by the Russian national and his company came less than a month after Andriunin, 26, was extradited from Portugal, where he had been residing at the time of his arrest in October as part of a probe into the crypto sector. They were among 15 people and three firms charged following a novel investigation dubbed "Operation Token Mirrors," in which the FBI for the first time directed the creation of its own digital token to help catch fraudsters in the crypto market. According to their plea deals, prosecutors have agreed to recommend that Andriunin receive up to two years in prison when he is sentenced on June 16, prosecutors said. Gotbit agreed to forfeit about $23 million in cryptocurrency. Andriunin's lawyer did not respond to a request for comment. Prosecutors said that from 2018 to 2024, Gotbit engaged in "wash trading," a form of sham trading, and market manipulation on behalf of several cryptocurrency clients to help artificially inflate trading volume for their tokens. The indictment cited a 2019 interview published online in which Andriunin described developing a code to wash trade cryptocurrencies to artificially inflate trading volume so they could get listed and trade on larger cryptocurrency exchanges. Prosecutors said Gotbit made wash trades worth millions of dollars and received tens of millions of dollars in proceeds for its services for cryptocurrencies including Saitama and Robo Inu. Individuals associated with those cryptocurrencies have also been charged.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Gotbit Founder Aleksei Andriunin Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud, Market Manipulation
Gotbit founder Aleksei Andriunin struck a plea deal with U.S. prosecutors on Wednesday that will see him serve no more than 24 months behind bars for his role in what prosecutors described as a 'wide-ranging conspiracy' to manipulate token prices for paying clients. Andriunin, a 26-year-old Russian national, was extradited to the U.S. from Portugal last month and charged with two counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit market manipulation and wire fraud – charges which carry a maximum combined sentence of 25 years in prison. In exchange for a reduced sentence, Andriunin pleaded guilty to all three counts. He also agreed to forfeit approximately $23 million in stablecoins tied to his crimes. The government is not seeking any other fine. In their indictment last October, prosecutors alleged that Gotbit was basically a market manipulator for hire, offering wash-trading services to paying crypto projects who wanted to artificially inflate the volume and price of their tokens. Andriunin's guilty plea is not entirely surprising: he was never coy about Gotbit's business activities. In a 2019 interview with CoinDesk, Andriunin – then a 20-year-old college sophomore at Moscow State University – admitted that his business was 'not entirely ethical' and detailed how he used bot trading to create enough artificial trade volume for a project to be listed on CoinMarketCap. Read more: For $15K, He'll Fake Your Exchange Volume – You'll Get on CoinMarketCap Gotbit is not the only market maker offering these services. At the same time that Andriunin and his company were charged, along with two other employees, U.S. prosecutors charged a handful of other firms, including CLS Global, MyTrade and ZMQuant, as well as several of the companies' employees and promoters, with similarly offering for-hire market manipulation services. Andriunin's sentencing date has not yet been set.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
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.
