Russia has sentenced a former chief investigator, Marat Tambiyev, to 16 years in prison after he was found to have accepted a bribe of 1,032 BTC, now worth $65 million, from a group of hackers.
Last year, Tambiyev was accused of accepting BTC bribes from people associated with the “Infraud Organization,” a hacker group being investigated by Russia’s Investigative Committee.
As part of the agreement, Tambiyev agreed not to confiscate the group’s illegally acquired Bitcoin. He subsequently received half of the illicit assets on April 7, 2022.
Russian authorities discovered the BTC on a Mac computer in 2023 under a file called “Pension.” They reasoned that the money was unjustified given that his work only earned him 11.7 million rubles ($144,000).
Tambiyev reportedly denies the charges and claims he was framed. He intends to appeal the verdict along with his colleague Kristina Lyakhovenko, who was sentenced to nine years in prison for facing the same charges in the same case. (Protos)

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