[Fed announcement] Russian National And Bitcoin Exchange Charged In 21-Count Indictment For Operating Alleged International Money Laundering Scheme And Allegedly Laundering Funds From Hack Of Mt. Gox

It's official the arrest of Alexander Vinnik is related to btc-e. They appear to have laundered mtgox stolen bitcoins. I'm surprised this isn't bigger news in this sub. btc-e was a major player when it came to laundering illegal bitcoins. The operators of the site were ghosts util now.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/pr/russian-national-and-bitcoin-exchange-charged-21-count-indictment-operating-alleged

An interesting side note. Their server does not appear to have been seized. It still has maintenance not and their twitter page says they will return in 5-10 days.

http://archive.is/loR5U#selection-3589.0-3589.42

 Update2: На данный момент ведутся работы по восстановлению работы сервиса. 
 Примерные сроки от 5 до 10 дней. Спасибо за понимание #btce 

Google Translate:

At the moment, work is underway to restore the service.
Approximate terms from 5 to 10 days. Thank you for understanding #btce


Comments


[11 Points] sharpshooter789:

Tinfoil hat theory: Alexandre Cazes did not commit suicide. He was placed in witness protection because he had information about Alexander Vinnik.


[2 Points] sharpshooter789:

His bitcointalk account seems to be WME.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=43575

Proof of ownership found here:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=85977.msg1037908#msg1037908

He may own the following domains: http://wme.cc/

edit: another interesting post. https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=85977.msg946161#msg946161

He gets in an agrument with some other exchange about his funds being stolen.

edit2: Looks like the guys who stole btc from SR used btc-e.

So, too, did a pair of corrupt U.S. federal agents, Carl Mark Force and Shuan Bridges, use BTC-e to launder their 
criminal proceeds. 

Pg 12, paragraph 50 lines 23-24


[2 Points] OnionLinks:

It isnt laundering that he did. He cant be expected to do analysis on every coin that comes through.