Ex-WEX Exchange Heads Extradition to the U.S. Approved by Poland

Poland has approved the extradition of Dmitry Vasiliev, the former head of the Wex cryptocurrency exchange, to the United States, as reported by TASS.

He faces accusations of fraud and money laundering in connection with the BTC-e trading platform and its operator, Alexander Vinnik.

This information was confirmed by Vasiliev’s lawyer, Alexander Surzhin, who mentioned that Poland’s Minister of Justice signed the extradition order. The former executive could face up to 25 years in prison in the U.S. on two charges. The extradition could take place soon.

Poland is also considering the possibility of extraditing Vasiliev to Ukraine if a request is made from there.

It is worth noting that in the spring of 2019, Vasiliev was declared a suspect in fraud in Kazakhstan and was subsequently placed on an international wanted list. In July of that same year, he was arrested in Italy, where he spent several weeks in prison.

In September 2021, the Warsaw district prosecutor’s office confirmed the detention and arrest of the former WEX head. By early December, he was released, after which he returned to Russia. At that time, the court had not reached a final decision regarding his extradition to Kazakhstan.

In May of the same year, Vasiliev was detained at Zagreb Airport while attempting to enter Croatia.

Regarding his most recent arrest in Warsaw in October 2024, news was reported by Exved’s CEO Sergey Mendeleev, who stated that law enforcement officials «unlocked and seized» Vasiliev’s phone.