Bitcoin Bribe Value $73 Million Lands Russian Investigator 16-Yr Jail Sentence – Decrypt

A former Russian investigator obtained a 16-year jail sentence on Tuesday for taking bribes in Bitcoin, marking the most important bribery case in Russian historical past. Marat Tambiyev accepted roughly $73 million in Bitcoin from organized criminals he was investigating—greater than 5 instances the quantity of the previous highest bribe in Russia, Reuters reported, citing Russian media experiences.Tambiyev moved greater than half of the organized crime group’s Bitcoin into his personal cryptocurrency wallets, permitting them to maintain the opposite half of the funds as a substitute of seizing all of the property for the state, in line with Russian prosecutors. Investigators found the wallets’ keys in a file referred to as “Pension” on Tambiyev's laptop computer. Tambiyev has asserted his innocence in courtroom, alleging in courtroom that his actions enabled the state to get well a number of the crime group's proceeds. He plans to attraction his conviction, in line with Russian state media.Greater than a 3rd of the funds that have been as soon as held on Tambiyev's pc have been recovered. The places of the remainder of the Bitcoin stays unclear. An alleged confederate of the previous investigator obtained a nine-year jail sentence in reference to the case.This isn’t the primary time criminals have tried to bribe high-ranking officers and regulation enforcement with Bitcoin in recent times. In 2022, the U.S. Justice Division reported that Chinese language intelligence officers paid $61,000 in Bitcoin bribes to a double agent engaged on behalf of the FBI.Edited by Andrew HaywardDaily Debrief NewsletterStart day by day with the highest information tales proper now, plus unique options, a podcast, movies and extra.