Former Investigator Sentenced to 16 Years for Record Bitcoin Bribe

Former investigator Marat Tambiev has been sentenced to 16 years in a penal colony for accepting a bribe exceeding 2718 BTC (7.3 billion rubles) and $1.5 million. This was reported by RBC.

The ex-head of the investigative department of the Tverskoy district committee in Moscow will serve his term in a high-security facility. He is also required to pay a fine of 500 million rubles.

“I do not admit guilt in what I am accused of. I believe that sooner or later justice will prevail in this story, and it will be shown in a completely different light,” the defendant stated.

The prosecution had requested a 20-year sentence and a 500 million ruble fine.

The case against Tambiev and his subordinate Kristina Lyakhovenko was brought to court in May. He was accused of accepting a bribe from members of the hacker group Infraud Organization.

In connection with this case, former deputy head of the investigative department of the Investigative Committee for the Tverskoy district of the capital, Dmitry Gubin, has also been arrested in absentia. He is believed to have fled abroad.

In July 2023, the Nikulinsky District Court of Moscow confiscated 1032.1 BTC from Tambiev in favor of the state. Access codes to two accounts were found on the suspect’s computer in a folder labeled “Pension.” The remaining assets are believed to have been obtained by Lyakhovenko and Gubin.

According to lawyer Vadim Bagaturia, 654 BTC “disappeared” from the bribery case.