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The Bitcoin seized from former ICRF employee Marat Tambiev will be converted into Russian state revenue from a hardware crypto wallet.
According to local reports, the Russian government has confiscated $10 million worth of Bitcoin from a former security official.
The Russian Ministry of Justice began confiscating Bitcoin from Marat Tambiev, a former employee of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF), in a major cryptocurrency bribery case.
In January 2023, officers began the process of seizing 1 billion Russian rubles (approximately $10 million), or about 103 BTC, from Tambiev, who was convicted of crypto bribery. This was reported by the local news agency TASS on January 8.
The confiscated Bitcoin will be added to Russia’s state revenue as part of the legal proceedings. Officers accessed Tambiev’s Ledger Nano X hardware wallet to seize the assets.
The Bribe Totaled 2,718 BTC. The Largest Bribery Case in Russia
According to local sources, the 103 BTC seized in Tambiev’s case represents only 4% of the total bribe amount.
In October 2024, a Russian court sentenced Tambiev to 16 years in prison for accepting a bribe of 2,718 BTC, which is worth approximately $258 million. The case has been described as the largest bribery case in Russian history by the local news agency RBC.
Former ICRF Employee Marat Tambiev Convicted in Russia’s 2,718 Bitcoin Bribery Scandal
In 2023, the Moscow Nikulinsky District Court ordered the seizure of 1,032 BTC worth $98 million from Tambiev, stating that the assets were acquired through unconfirmed income.
The Bribe Behind Infraud Organization Hacker Group
Tambiev was reportedly arrested in March 2022, and enforcement officers found the private keys to his Bitcoin wallet on his computer in a folder labeled “Retirement.”
Officers and the court concluded that Tambiev received thousands of BTC from a hacker group known as the Infraud Organization.
Members of the group, Kazakhstani citizens Mark and Konstantin Bergman, along with Estonian citizen Kirill Samokutyaev, reportedly bribed Tambiev for various procedural decisions, including their own criminal cases.
The investigation revealed that the bribery case involved several former ICRF employees who allegedly received bribes from the Infraud Organization hackers.
The bribe was reportedly offered in exchange for halting the hackers’ prosecution and providing an opportunity to hide crypto assets worth at least 14 billion rubles ($138 million).
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