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Russian arrested in the US in the case of bitcoins did not apply to the consulate

Consul General Sergei Ovsyannikov said that the Russian Ilya Liechtenstein, who was arrested in the United States on charges of laundering stolen bitcoins in the amount of $4.5 billion, did not apply to the Russian Consulate General in New York. He told RIA Novosti about this.

“He didn’t contact us with any questions. Neither he nor the lawyer. We don't know if he will convert or not. If he appeals, and it will be necessary to specifically decide something, then we will decide,” he said.

Earlier, a US court suspended the decision to release on bail Russian Ilya Lichtenstein and his wife Heather Morgan, who are accused of laundering stolen bitcoins worth $4.5 billion at the current exchange rate.

Prior to this, the US Department of Justice reported on the confiscation of more than $3.6 billion worth of bitcoins, which were stolen in 2016 as a result of a hacker attack from Bitfinex, one of the largest bitcoin exchanges in Hong Kong.

Ilya Lichtenstein, 34, and Heather Morgan, 31, were charged in a criminal case of conspiracy to launder the stolen 119,754 bitcoins.

Russian arrested in the US in the case of bitcoins did not apply to the consulate