Cryptocurrency firm founder extradited from Portugal to face US fraud charges
FILE PHOTO: Representations of cryptocurrencies are seen in this illustration, August 10, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
BOSTON : The founder of a cryptocurrency financial services firm has been extradited from Portugal to face U.S. charges that he participated in a wide-ranging scheme to manipulate the market for digital tokens on behalf of client companies.
Aleksei Andriunin, the CEO of cryptocurrency "market maker" Gotbit, was ordered detained following an appearance in Boston federal court on Wednesday, one day after his extradition.
Andriunin, 26, was indicted in October on charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit market manipulation and wire fraud.
He and his company were among 15 individuals and three firms charged following a novel investigation into the crypto sector dubbed "Operation Token Mirrors," in which the FBI for the first time directed the creation of its own digital token to help bait and catch fraudsters in the market.
Andriunin's extradition and detention were announced by the office of U.S. Attorney Leah Foley in Boston.
Prosecutors said that from 2018 to 2024, Gotbit engaged in "wash trading," a form of sham trading, and market manipulation on behalf of several cryptocurrency clients to help artificially inflate trading volume for their tokens.
The indictment cited a 2019 interview published online in which Andriunin described developing a code to wash trade cryptocurrencies to artificially inflate trading volume so they could get listed and trade on larger cryptocurrency exchanges.
Prosecutors said Gotbit made wash trades worth millions of dollars and received tens of millions of dollars in proceeds for its services for cryptocurrencies including Saitama and Robo Inu. Individuals associated with those cryptocurrencies have also been charged.
Andriunin, a Russian national, was arrested in Portugal where he was residing in October when the charges against him and the others were first announced. His lawyers did not respond to requests for comment.
Gotbit and two of its employees in Russia are also facing charges, though they have not appeared in court to face them.
