Dmitry Vasiliev Former CEO of Wex Exchange Detained in Croatia

• The company went insolvent in 2018 and lost $400 million.
• In the last two years, the crypto entrepreneur was briefly detained in Italy.

Jutarnji List reports that former Wex CEO Dmitry Vasiliev was arrested at Franjo Tudjman Airport in Croatian on Wednesday, May 25. According to the newspaper, Interpol issued a red warrant on a request from Kazakhstan, and the police in Zagreb have taken action. Central Asian authorities seek Russian-born Vasiliev for scamming a $20,000 investment.

But in comparison to other alleged crimes, Vasiliev’s transgression in Kazakhstan is minor; thus, the country’s law enforcement has sought his extradition for some time. According to estimates from Wex customers, the company went insolvent in 2018 and lost $400 million.

Last year, the Polish press announced that Vasiliev had been seized at Warsaw Airport in mid-August and was awaiting extradition to Kazakhstan. This time, he is believed to be detained in Croatia. A month after his release in December, it was claimed that he had gone back to Russia.

In the last two years, the crypto entrepreneur was briefly detained in Italy, but the Italian authorities released him after a few weeks alleging errors in the extradition request. He was allowed to return to his home in St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-biggest city.

According to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, a guy was arrested in March of 2022 on suspicion of stealing crypto. Wex co-founder Aleksey Bilyuchenko may have been the perpetrator, albeit no one has confirmed this.

Earlier that year, following the arrest of one of its suspected operators, Alexander Vinnik, in Greece, the notorious BTC-e exchange was forced to shut down. According to the US, he is accused of laundering up to $9 billion over the network. A French court condemned Vinnik to five years in jail in December 2020, and he is also sought in Russia.