Marat Tambiyev, head of Moscow's Tversky District Investigative Committee Investigative Department, received bribes in Bitcoin (BTC) amounting to approximately $24 million from the hackers under investigation, according to Russian local news outlet Kommersant.
The access codes to the investigator's electronic wallet containing the bitcoins were stored in a folder called "Retirement", which was found by entering them into his computer.
The bribe givers have received suspended sentences, and investigators plan to confiscate all of Tambiyev's corruption proceeds.
On Monday, June 5, the Nikulinsky District Court of Moscow will consider the case filed by First Deputy Prosecutor General Anatoly Razinkin, demanding the confiscation of Marat Tambiyev's corruption proceeds.
Amount of Bribes Nearly $27 Million in Bitcoin at Today's Exchange Rates
The Russian Investigative Committee, and then the General Prosecutor's Office, determined that the defendant held 1,032.1 BTC, worth $23,980,843 at the time, as of January 30, 2023.
According to investigators, Tambiyev received the cryptocurrency on April 7 last year from members of the hacker group Infraud Organization Mark, as well as Konstantin Bergmanov and Kirill Samokutyaevsky, in exchange for their failure to confiscate their assets, whose criminal case is pending.
The alleged bribery came to light during a search of Tambiyev's apartment on Bolshaya Ochakovskaya Street in Moscow. According to Kommersant, they found, among other things, an Apple MacBook Pro laptop that only broke after a few months.
Investigators from the central office of the Investigative Committee drew attention to a folder called "Pension", which contained a photo of a piece of paper containing the codes that gave Tambiyev access to 932.1 and 100 Bitcoins.
The BTCs found in Tambiyev's house were confiscated by the Russian authorities.
*Not investment advice.
