Key takeaways:
- A Russian official took $28 million in Bitcoin (BTC) as a bribe from the hacker organization he was looking into.
- According to the Deputy Prosecutor General, Tambiev received 11.7 million rubles (about $150,000) while serving on the Investigative Committee.
A local news publication claims that Russian official Marat Tambiev took $28 million in Bitcoin (BTC) as a bribe from the hacker organization he was looking into. According to the article, this is the highest sum ever obtained in a single case of bribery in Russia.
Tambiev led the committee for the Tverskoy district of Moscow’s investigative division until he was sacked for corruption. According to the source, during a search of Tambiev’s Moscow flat a few months ago, officials discovered 1032.1 BTC concealed in his laptop, which was taken into custody.
According to the Deputy Prosecutor General, Tambiev received 11.7 million rubles (about $150,000) while serving on the Investigative Committee. The acquisition of property from sources not authorized by law is shown by the fact that he had Bitcoins valued at $28 million.
Authorities claim that on April 7, 2022, Konstantin Bergmanov, Kirill Samokutyaevsky, and the hacker collective Infraud Organization Mark gave Tambiev the bribe. According to the article, Tambiev accepted the money in exchange for letting the hackers he was looking into keep their unlawful assets.
According to the publication, the hackers were given sentences of 2.5 to 3.5 years with suspension. Around $8.6 million worth of Bitcoin was taken back by the authorities from them.
According to the publication, Tambiev is scheduled to appear in court on June 5, where the prosecution will try to have all of his illegally obtained money seized. He has resisted the accusations and refuted the corruption claims.
Due to the ongoing investigation and the lack of evidence supporting the charges, he recently sued the Investigative Committee and requested reinstatement. However, the report stated that the lawsuit was dropped after a departmental audit established the corruption.
For stealing over VN$37 billion (about $1.5 million) in bitcoin in a heist that involved kidnapping victims and threatening to inject them with HIV-infected needles, two men were given life sentences in May. Ho Ngoc Tai and Tran Ngoc Hoang were found to have stolen cryptocurrency valued at 37 billion Vietnamese ng ($1.5 million). Two of the fourteen more inmates who received sentences ranging from 9 to 19 years in jail previously worked as police officers.
