The trustee in charge of recovering funds for investors affected by the iconic collapse of Bitcoin exchange Mt Gox is now seeking more information about Alexander Vinnik, the alleged former owner of defunct exchange BTC-e.
The news was announced yesterday following a trustee meeting. The trustee, Nobuaki Kobayashi, is asking the US Department of Justice for details on its investigation which eventually led to the shutdown of BTC-e.
“The Rehabilitation Trustee has contacted the US Department of Justice through a US law firm, and seeking further information,” Kobayashi said in a statement.
It’s believed that BTC-e played a role in the laundering of funds stolen from Mt Gox that were lost through a series of hacks and scams.
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How Kobayashi plans to use the information from the DoJ remains unclear, but it’s certainly going to uncover some gems. That is assuming the DoJ complies with their request.
The US DoJ made an attempt to shut down the exchange in July 2017 with a massive 21-count indictment. In associated documents, BTC-e was accused of running an international money laundering operation which was said to have processed money from the hack of Mt Gox.
The supposedly Russian-linked exchange has previously been reported to have handled around five percent of Bitcoin’s trading volume. Further research found that 95 percent of ransomware-related cashouts were conducted through the platform.
Vinnik, the alleged owner of BTC-e, was arrested back in July 2017 whilst on a family holiday in Greece.
CoinDesk reports that Vinnik remains in prison in Greece where he has continually protested his innocence and asked to be extradited to his homeland.
While some funds have already been recovered, creditors to Mt Gox are reportedly due to meet Kobayashi again in March 2020 for another update. It looks like the Mt Gox saga is never going to end.
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