Russian Embassy Demands US State Dept. Provide Updates on WEX CEO Dmitry Vasiliev

The Russian Embassy in Washington DC has demanded that the US State Department provide Moscow with updates on Dmitry Vasiliev, the former CEO of the crypto exchange WEX.

The Russian state-run news agency TASS reported that the press service of the diplomatic mission confirmed it had sent the department a formal request.

The service said the embassy was “closely monitoring the situation around Dmitry Vasiliev.” It noted that Polish courts extradited the Russian citizen at the request of the US authorities.” A spokesperson said:

Russian Embassy: We Want Updates on Vasiliev

The service also demanded that Russian consular officers be allowed to meet with Vasiliev under the terms of the 1964 Bilateral Consular Convention.

Vasiliev and others set up WEX as a successor to the BTC-e exchange. It ceased trading in 2018. The closure left scores of customers unable to access fiat and coins worth almost $0.5 billion.

The embassy said that once it receives information about Vasiliev, it would “immediately contact him and provide him with the necessary consular and legal assistance.”

The Russian Embassy in Washington DC in 2020. (Source: Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs [CC BY 4.0])

Vasiliev’s legal team at the European Court of Human Rights last month told Russian reporters that Polish officials had deported their client from Warsaw in 2024.

At the time, Vasiliev was wanted in the United States. Prosecutors say he masterminded a criminal fraud and money laundering network.

The lawyers said that Vasiliev was extradited to the US “as part of a criminal case involving [the former BTC-e finance chief] Alexander Vinnik.”

US prosecutors accused Vinnik of laundering $4 billion to $9 billion through the now-defunct BTC-e crypto exchange. Greek police arrested him in 2017. A court then extradited him to the US in August 2022.

In February this year, Vinnik was freed in a prisoner swap with the American teacher Marc Fogel. US prosecutors dropped all charges against him shortly after.

The legal team added that Vasiliev could face up to 25 years in prison. Prosecutors have brought two separate charges against the ex-exchange chief, the lawyers said.