The Russian prosecutor has applied to seize nearly $30 million in assets related to the former investigator involved in the WEX "cryptocurrency bribery" case

According to DL News, the Russian prosecutor's office is seeking to confiscate a large number of luxury assets belonging to fugitive secret service officer Georgy Satyukov. He is accused of receiving $184 million worth of Bitcoin and $30 million worth of Ethereum as bribes from the operator of the now-defunct WEX cryptocurrency exchange, while investigators have identified assets worth $29.6 million linked to Satyukov's alleged bribery.

The prosecution claims that Satyukov used the illicit funds to purchase 13 apartments in Russia, several non-residential properties in St. Petersburg, a villa in the UAE, and a million-dollar property in Saratov registered in his brother's name. Additionally, the investigation found that he owns two Porsche Cayenne Turbos, seven Patek Philippe watches, and other jewelry worth over $1.3 million, with more than $15 million in cash and foreign currency remaining in his family bank accounts.

It is alleged that the bribes originated from Alexey Ivanov, a former system administrator of the WEX exchange, who sought Satyukov's help to evade a criminal investigation. Satyukov and his former colleague Dmitry Sokolov are currently on the run, and a Moscow court is preparing to conduct an absentia trial against them. If convicted, their assets could be nationalized. The WEX exchange took over the trading operations of BTC-e in 2017, which had shut down after its founder Alexander Vinnik was arrested in Greece on fraud and money laundering charges, and WEX also ceased operations in 2018.