Bitcoin to the rescue. Since February 2022, Russia has been waging a costly war against Ukraine, swallowing up more than $167 billion according to experts. To finance this conflict, Moscow is exploring all options to counter international sanctions, including the sale of assets seized in corruption cases. Among them: more than 1,000 bitcoins (BTC) recovered during an investigation into the Infraud hacker group. A sale that could bring in nearly $30 million at current prices.
- The Kremlin sold seized bitcoins to finance the war in Ukraine, accumulating around $30 million.
- Selling these cryptocurrencies is complex, with bitcoins spread across multiple wallets requiring separate court rulings.
The Kremlin liquidates its bitcoins: everything must disappear!
The announcement comes from the Russian news agency TASS. According to their information, the Russian Treasury has started transferring the confiscated BTC to Marat Tambievformer investigator of the Russian Investigative Committee. Sentenced to 16 years in prisonTambiev had accepted bribes in the form of cryptocurrencies from the Infraud group.
Infraud Organization is an international criminal organization well known in the world of cybercriminals. Created in 2010 by Svyatoslav Bondarenko, a Ukrainian, it specialized in the theft of financial data, bank card fraud, and illegal activities on the darknet. Before its dismantling by law enforcement in 2018, Infraud Organization had caused losses estimated at $530 million all over the world. It had approximately 10,000 active members from several countries
In this context, the Russian authorities seized 1 032,1 BTCtoday valued at approximately $30 million. Tambiev was also fined 500 million rubles (around $5 million) and was stripped of his rank as major. But the sale of these cryptos is fraught with pitfalls: the bitcoins have been distributed across several wallets, requiring separate court decisions to allow access. To date, a first tranche of 10 million dollars could be unlocked.
-A different strategy from the United States
Besides the bitcoins, prosecutors are seeking to liquidate other assets seized from Tambiev, including real estate in the Moscow region and a Honda motorcycle. They also accuse the former investigator of having transmitted assets to relatives, such as his uncle, against whom a complaint was filed.
Russia is not the only country liquidating seized cryptocurrencies. United States do so regularly, particularly with funds from the Silk Road or the Bitfinex hack. This decision may seem surprising, especially for a country often perceived as favorable to cryptos. Vladimir Poutine even touting their potential to circumvent Western sanctions. However, this sale demonstrates that the Kremlin sees cryptocurrencies more as a tactical tool than as a store of value.
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