Bitcoin Bribery Shock: Ex-Russian Investigator Faces 16 Years in Jail

A former Russian investigator, Marat Tambiyev, was sentenced to 16 years for accepting $73 million in bitcoin bribes from an organized crime group. He allegedly transferred the crypto assets to his personal wallets instead of seizing them, prompting bribery claims in Russia's high-profile investigations.

A former Russian state investigator was sentenced to 16 years in prison on Tuesday for accepting bribes largely in bitcoin, amounting to approximately $73 million. This figure set a new record in Russia's modern history for a bribery case, surpassing previous known figures by five times.

Marat Tambiyev was found guilty of taking these bribes from members of a crime group he was supposed to be investigating. Instead of confiscating the group's illicit funds, Tambiyev reportedly orchestrated the transfer of more than half of its bitcoin wealth to his personal crypto wallets. The critical evidence came from a file labeled "Pension" found on his laptop, which contained access codes to the wallets. The suspects were permitted to retain the remaining crypto assets.

Pleading innocence, Tambiyev claimed he was framed, arguing his actions allowed the state to recover some of the illicit funds. Kommersant reported that authorities managed to retrieve over a third of the bitcoin found in the "Pension" file, but the fate of the remaining assets remains unknown. Kristina Lyakhovenko, a subordinate of Tambiyev, received a nine-year sentence in connection with the same case. Both defendants plan to appeal. This case is part of a broader Russian campaign targeting high-profile corruption, including the military.

(With inputs from agencies.)