Crypto CEO Extradited: U.S. Prosecutors Charge Market Manipulation

Aleksei Andriunin, the founder and CEO of crypto platform Gotbit, has been extradited to the United States to face charges of market manipulation and wire fraud. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts announced on Feb. 26 that the Russian national, arrested in October 2024 in Portugal, will stand trial for his alleged role in a scheme to inflate cryptocurrency trading volumes on behalf of multiple firms.

The Department of Justice alleges that Andriunin engaged in wash trading, a practice where an individual buys and sells the same asset simultaneously to create the appearance of increased trading volume. This practice is illegal and can be used to manipulate the market. Other companies implicated in market manipulation allegations in 2024 include ZM Quant, CLS Global, and MyTrade.

Federal prosecutors indicted Andriunin in late October 2024. According to the DOJ press release, the 26-year-old was extradited to the U.S. on Feb. 25, 2025. He will remain in custody pending a hearing, the U.S. Attorney's Office stated. A federal jury indicted Andriunin on Oct. 31, 2024, with charges also filed against Gotbit directors Fedor Kedrov and Qawi Jalili.

Prosecutors allege that Gotbit offered market manipulation services to multiple crypto entities between 2018 and 2024, creating artificial trading volumes for cryptocurrency companies, including some based in the United States. Andriunin allegedly described a wash trading code he developed during a 2019 interview. The code enabled Gotbit to artificially inflate trading volume, helping tokens gain visibility on CoinMarketCap and major exchanges.

The DOJ alleges Gotbit received millions of dollars from these fraudulent activities, with Andriunin transferring part of the proceeds to a personal Binance account. If convicted, Andriunin faces up to 20 years in prison for wire fraud and up to five years for conspiracy to commit market manipulation and wire fraud. He also faces a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gains from the fraudulent activities.