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- Russian authorities are selling 1,032 seized Bitcoin after a corrupt investigator seized them as bribes from hackers.
- The former investigator got 16 years in prison, and authorities are now going after his other assets.
Russian bailiffs have initiated liquidating over 1,032 Bitcoin, valued at approximately one billion rubles, following the conviction of former high-ranking investigator Marat Tambiev. This follows a significant cryptocurrency bribery case in the country. The digital assets were seized after Tambiev was found guilty of accepting bribes to shield a criminal hacking group.
The case came to light when officials realized that Tambiev, the chief investigator in Moscow’s Tver District, received Bitcoin from participants of the Infraud Organization. Tambiev promised that during the investigation of the hacking group’s activities, he would refrain from seizing its illegally obtained funds in return for the cryptocurrency.
Major Corruption Scandal Rocks Russian Law Enforcement
The traces of a corruption scheme appeared when the representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs found the Bitcoins that Tambiev bought during the course of the corrupt dealings in the Ledger Nano X hardware wallet during the search of the Moscow apartment. The investigations conducted afterward resulted in a legal decision made in 2023 by the Nikulinsky Court of Moscow that sanctioned the seizure of cryptocurrency assets.
The Prosecutor General’s Office has expanded its investigation beyond the initial Bitcoin seizure. Tambiev will have more assets seized in another new lawsuit: property, a motorcycle, and other cryptocurrencies. Prosecutors continue to argue that these assets were earned out of the proceeds of crime while he was an investigator.
In October, the verdict led to strict repercussions for Tambiev. The court convicted him of 16 years of prison and ordered him to pay fines of 500 million rubles ($5,2 million). The ruling also removed his rank and barred him from government service for the next twelve years once he got out.
Partners in Crime: Fellow Officers Caught in Bitcoin Bribery Web
Other law enforcement officers have also been dragged into the corruption case. Kristina Lyakhovenko, who used to work for Tambiev, was sentenced to 9 years in the general regime penal colony. The former deputy head of the investigative department for the Tverskoy District, Dmitry Gubin, stayed at large and is currently on the wanted list.
The case highlights the growing intersection between traditional corruption and cryptocurrency in law enforcement. This case explains how digital assets can be employed in a bribery conspiracy and proves that law enforcement can effectively identify and forfeit such digital assets.
The flow of the liquidation of the seized Bitcoin can be classified as one of the largest amounts of cryptocurrency confiscated in Russia, according to the authorities of law enforcement agencies. The case continues to develop as prosecutors work to recover all illegally obtained assets and bring all involved parties to justice.
