Former WEX head Dmitry Vasilyev detained in Croatia

Former owner of the cryptocurrency exchange WEX Dmitry Vasilyev was detained at Zagreb airport while attempting to enter Croatia. Local media report.

According to the publication, the detention took place on Wednesday, May 25, based on an Interpol red notice issued by Kazakhstan. Law enforcement authorities suspect Vasilyev of embezzling more than $20,000 and are pursuing his extradition.

Vasilyev himself denies all charges.

Earlier, in July 2018, due to ‘technical works’ the WEX exchange halted full withdrawals. At the same time, according to Dmitry Vasilyev, a contract transferring ownership rights to WEX was signed with former DPR fighter Dmitry ‘Moryachku’ Khavchenko.

In August of that year, it became known that the exchange went bankrupt and ceased operations. An initiative group of clients estimated the damage at over $400 million. Vasilyev personally is credited with the withdrawal of $200 million.

In spring 2019, Kazakh law enforcement authorities, in absentia, declared him a suspect in fraud and announced an interstate arrest warrant.

In July 2019, Vasilyev was arrested in Italy; he spent several weeks in custody.

In September 2021, his detention and arrest were confirmed by the Warsaw district prosecutor’s office. In early December, the ex-head of WEX was released, after which he travelled to Russia. Then attorney Krzysztof Brola clarified that the court had not yet made a final decision regarding Dmitry Vasilyev’s extradition to Kazakhstan.

Later, from one of WEX wallets, an unknown person withdrew 100 ETH. The funds were sent to the Binance exchange.

In March 2022, in Russia, the ‘red admin’ of BTC-e (WEX) Alexei Bilyuchenko was detained, suspected of misappropriating the exchange’s assets.

Follow ForkLog’s bitcoin news on our Telegram — cryptocurrency news, prices and analytics.