Former Wex Exchange Head to be Extradited to the US

Poland has approved the extradition of Dmitry Vasiliev, the former head of the cryptocurrency exchange Wex, to the United States, reports TASS.

He is accused of fraud and money laundering in a case related to the trading platform BTC-e and its operator Alexander Vinnik.

The information was confirmed by Vasiliev’s lawyer, Alexander Surzhin. According to him, the extradition order was signed by Poland’s Minister of Justice. In the US, the former executive faces up to 25 years in prison on two charges. Extradition could occur soon.

Poland also does not rule out the possibility of extraditing Vasiliev to Ukraine, should a request be made.

In spring 2019, Vasiliev was declared a suspect in fraud in Kazakhstan and was put on an interstate wanted list. In July of the same year, he was arrested in Italy, where he spent several weeks in jail.

In September 2021, the Warsaw District Prosecutor’s Office confirmed the detention and arrest of the former WEX head. In early December, Vasiliev was released and subsequently traveled to Russia. At that time, the court did not make a final decision regarding extradition to Kazakhstan.

In May of the same year, Vasiliev was detained at Zagreb airport while attempting to enter Croatia.

His latest arrest in Warsaw in October 2024 was reported by Exved CEO Sergey Mendeleev. He stated that law enforcement “cracked and seized” Vasiliev’s phone.