Law enforcement officials in Minsk are seeking international assistance to locate and detain the man who ran what is said to be the biggest online exchanger for cryptocurrencies in Belarus. The crypto trader has been accused of tax evasion and an investigation against three of his accomplices has estimated the losses for the state at $3.5 million.
Belarusian Operator of Bitok.me Now Wanted Internationally for Tax Offenses
Authorities in Belarus have recently completed a criminal investigation against three residents of the city of Lida, who helped the owner of an illegal crypto exchange platform to dodge taxation. Vladislav Kuchinsky, who managed Bitok.me (formerly Bitok.by) for two years, has been accused of “tax evasion on an especially large scale” and put on an international wanted list.
During that period, Kuchinsky and his “representatives” used the platform to facilitate the purchase and sale of “digital signs (tokens),” the legal term used to define cryptocurrencies under Belarusian law, with fiat cash and non-cash payments. They also offered exchange between cryptocurrencies, the Investigative Committee of Belarus explained this week.
In total, the Bitok’s operators conducted almost 8,000 transactions involving digital currencies for a total amount exceeding $29 million, a press release detailed. The estimated damage to the state budget, resulting from tax evasion in their activities, amounted to more than 9 million Belarusian rubles (over $3.5 million at current exchange rates).
The officials in Minsk also pointed out that the suspects used anonymization tools, SIM cards registered under fake identities, and accounts on foreign crypto platforms which allowed them to stay under the radar. Eventually, investigators were able to identify all participants in the crypto trading scheme, intercept their correspondence with clients, and trace their money transfers.
During searches, police confiscated computer equipment, documents, and withdrawn cash in the amount of $280,000. Belarusian law enforcement officers were also able to establish the bank accounts used by the accused in Belarus and Georgia that had 2 million rubles (almost $800,000) on their balances, and arrest them.
With assistance from Moscow, Belarus obtained a database with information about 2,000 of Bitok’s clients whose activities are also under investigation. Those who made the largest transactions, exceeding $50,000 in fiat equivalent, have been interrogated,…
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