Founder of cryptocurrency company extradited from Portugal to US to face fraud charges
The chief executive officer of a cryptocurrency financial services company has been transported from Portugal to the United States to confront allegations that he participated in a vast conspiracy to manipulate the digital token market on behalf of client enterprises. Aleksei Andriunin, the founder of the cryptocurrency “market maker” Gotbit, was remanded in custody following an appearance in a federal court in Boston on Wednesday, after his extradition the previous day.
Andriunin, 26, was formally charged in October with wire fraud and conspiracy to engage in market manipulation and wire fraud. He and his company were part of a group of 15 individuals and three businesses indicted following an inventive inquiry into the digital currency industry known as “Operation Token Mirrors.” The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) spearheaded this operation by creating its digital token to lure and apprehend scammers in the market for the first time.
The extradition and detention of Andriunin were publicized by the office of U.S. Attorney Leah Foley in Boston. Prosecutors claimed that between 2018 and 2024, Gotbit orchestrated “wash trading,” a manipulative trading tactic, and market manipulation to boost trading activity artificially for numerous cryptocurrency clients.
According to the indictment, a 2019 online interview featured Andriunin describing his development of a code to execute wash trades in cryptocurrencies, inflating trading volumes to facilitate listings on major cryptocurrency exchanges. Gotbit conducted wash trades amounting to millions of dollars, reaping tens of millions of dollars in profits for its services related to cryptocurrencies such as Saitama and Robo Inu. Individuals connected with these tokens have also been indicted.
Andriunin, a Russian citizen, was detained in Portugal, where he was residing when the charges against him and others were first unveiled in October. His legal representation did not provide any comments in response to media inquiries. Gotbit and two of its personnel in Russia are also confronting accusations, although they have yet to attend court proceedings.
This concludes the article on the cryptocurrency financial services firm’s CEO extradition case and the alleged involvement in a market manipulation conspiracy.