Bitcoin cloud miner HashFlare co-founders Ivan Turogin and Sergei Potapenko successfully appealed extradition from Estonia to the United States, where they face 18 counts of fraud and money laundering.According to local media reports, the Tallinn Circuit Court overturned the lower court order on November 29. Report.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, HashFlare, which operated from 2015 to 2019, was a Ponzi scheme in which hundreds of thousands of victims paid a total of $575 million. The company claims to lease hash power for cryptocurrency mining. It also encourages investment in fake banks. Turokin and Potapenko each face up to 20 years in prison if convicted in the United States.
RELATED: Atomic Wallet asks lawsuit over $100 million hack to be dropped, saying it had ‘nothing to do with the United States’
Turokin and Potapenko were arrested in Estonia in November 2022 after a US grand jury issued an indictment. They are Estonian citizens. officially recognized They were extradited in September.According to the BBC, investigations into these people are ongoing portable With the help of 15 Americans, one of the largest frauds in Estonia’s history was committed.
The FBI’s Seattle Division is seeking information from potential victims of two fraud schemes conducted by Ivan Turõgin and Sergei Potapenko through their company HashCoins. https://t.co/nkvQ93QCgzand Polybius.
— Hacker News (@Hacker__News) January 6, 2023
The businessman’s defense presented “evidence concerning the conditions of detention in the United States” that the government failed to consider and claimed there were procedural irregularities in issuing the extradition order. In overturning the orders, the Circuit Court cited the practice of the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights.
The court ordered Turokin, Potapenko and their families to receive more than 100,000 euros ($110,000) in compensation. Its decision can be appealed until December 11.
Estonia passed strengthened anti-money laundering laws, including the introduction of Financial Action Task Force travel rules, which led to the closure of nearly 400 virtual asset service providers in May.
Magazine: E For Estonia: How digital natives are creating a blueprint for a blockchain nation
Svlook
