Former WEX Head Dmitry Vasiliev Detained in Poland

Former owner of the cryptocurrency exchange WEX, Dmitry Vasiliev, has been detained in Warsaw, Poland. This was reported by Exved CEO Sergey Mendeleev on his Telegram channel.

“Dima has been arrested by Interpol in Warsaw on a US warrant related to charges of aiding in the evasion of anti-Russian sanctions. The extradition process has been initiated,” he wrote.

According to Mendeleev, local lawyers are working with Vasiliev, and his projects are “in the reliable hands of close partners.”

“Unfortunately, his phone was unlocked and seized (he was trying to show that Kazakhstan had no claims against him). This is all the information for now,” added the Exved CEO.

In July 2018, due to “technical work,” the WEX exchange ceased full withdrawal of funds. At the same time, according to Dmitry Vasiliev, an agreement was signed to transfer ownership rights of WEX to former “DNR” militant Dmitry “Sailor” Khavchenko.

In August of the same year, the exchange’s bankruptcy and suspension of operations became known. An initiative group of the exchange’s clients estimated the damage to exceed $400 million. Vasiliev personally is attributed with the withdrawal of $200 million.

In spring 2019, Kazakh law enforcement declared him a suspect in fraud and issued an interstate search warrant.

In July 2019, Vasiliev was arrested in Italy, spending several weeks in prison.

In September 2021, his detention and arrest were confirmed by the Warsaw District Prosecutor’s Office. In early December, the former WEX head was released and subsequently traveled to Russia. At that time, lawyer Krzysztof Brola clarified that the court had not yet made a final decision regarding Dmitry Vasiliev’s extradition to Kazakhstan.

Later, 100 ETH was withdrawn from one of WEX’s wallets by an unknown party. The funds were transferred to the Binance exchange.

In March 2022, the “red admin” of BTC-e (WEX), Alexey Bilyuchenko, was detained in Russia, suspected of embezzling the bitcoin exchange’s assets.

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