Moscow Bitcoin Selloff: Russia ‘Begins to Sell’ Coins Seized in BTC 1,032 Infraud Haul
Russia has commenced the sale of the Bitcoin seized during a 2023 investigation into the Infraud hacker group. This move indicates that Moscow intends to exchange over 1,000 BTC for fiat currency.
According to the Russian state-run news agency TASS, the Russian Treasury has initiated the transfer of the funds.
The news agency has confirmed that Moscow will initially sell nearly $10 million worth of BTC seized from Marat Tambiev, a former investigator with the Russian Investigative Committee.
Moscow Bitcoin Selloff: Will Russia Sell Entire BTC 1,032 Stash?
Tambiev was found guilty last year of accepting a bribe from the hacker group. Bitcoin tokens totaling hundreds were discovered on his computer and storage devices.
The former investigator was convicted of taking 1,032.1 BTC from the group and sentenced to 16 years in prison.
However, efforts to liquidate the entire 1,032.1 BTC have been hindered by legal obstacles.
It appears that Tambiev divided the coins into smaller amounts, requiring separate court rulings to grant Moscow access to each portion.
Bailiffs have successfully obtained court approval to sell the initial $10 million worth of coins. These coins were reportedly stored on a Ledger Nano X hardcrypto wallet owned by Tambiev.
The news agency cited “a source familiar with the case” who stated that prosecutors also intend to sell additional Bitcoin holdings “worth several million rubles.”
Furthermore, they hope to sell several real estate properties in the Moscow region and a Honda motorcycle, according to the source.
Legal Challenges
Prosecutors have encountered legal hurdles in their attempt to sell the entire Bitcoin haul, as well as suggestions that Tambiev may have transferred some assets to family members.
In late November 2024, the Prosecutor-General filed a case against Tambiev and his uncle, Shagaban Kubanov, seeking court permission to sell a significant portion of their property for the benefit of the state. On December 20, 2024, the office launched a second case.
In 2023, a court in Nikulinsky ordered bailiffs to seize a total of 1,032.1 BTC from Tambiev’s computers and other devices.
Tambiev is currently serving his sentence in a maximum-security penal colony. Additionally, he was fined 500 million rubles (approximately $5 million) and stripped of his rank as a major.
His former colleague Kristina Lyakhovenko was also found guilty of accepting a bribe and sentenced to nine years in prison.
Dmitry Gubin, the former deputy head of the investigative department for Moscow’s Tverskoy District, is currently in hiding, and the police have yet to determine his whereabouts.
Prosecutors informed the court last year that Tambiev accepted a series of Bitcoin bribes between 2020 and 2022.
In exchange, Tambiev assisted in diverting police investigations into the group, as well as enabling the hackers to conceal crypto funds worth 14 billion rubles ($137 million).
In July of last year, Marina Odintsova, the head of the Kirov branch of the Association of Lawyers of Russia, mentioned a significant recent increase in “non-cash” bribery involving cryptocurrencies and other assets.
