The Belarusian Main Investigation Department has completed the criminal case investigation against three suspects who assisted the owner of the cryptocurrency exchange Bitok.me with tax evasion.

According to the Investigative Committee, Vladislav Kuchinsky, owner of Bitok.me (formerly Bitok.by) and his accomplices processed transactions worth more than $29 million through the exchanger. Loss during tax evasion exceeded 9 million Belarusian rubles.

The ministry described the service as “the largest crypto exchange in Belarus.”

In committing the crime, the defendants used online anonymization tools, SIM cards registered to fake persons, and accounts on foreign crypto platforms. This allowed them to stay in the shadows and not attract the attention of law enforcement for a long time,” he said.

As a result of the investigation, authorities determined that the exchanger was used “to carry out fraudulent activities and to finance extremist activities”.

Employees of the United Kingdom emphasized that the service does not reside in the Belarusian Hi-Tech Park and is not registered in the prescribed manner.

More than $280,000 in cash, as well as computers and documents confirming the defendant’s involvement in the crime, were seized during the searches.

In addition, officials questioned the service’s “biggest customers” who processed over $50,000 in transactions through the service, and law enforcement had access to the exchanger’s database and information on two thousand users:

“The activities of these clients continue to be investigated by the criminal prosecution authority.”

The investigation identified bank accounts controlled by the defendants in Belarus and Georgia. They were arrested.

After Kuchinsky’s accomplices were identified and detained, Bitok.me continued to operate. The owner of the exchanger sent letters advising customers to ignore calls to law enforcement and “taken measures to withdraw funds from controlled accounts”.

Kuchinsky has been placed on the international wanted list. In particular, he is accused of massive tax evasion.

Recall that in April, the Ministry of Justice of Belarus established the procedure for collecting digital currencies as part of enforcement proceedings.

UK chief Dmitry Gora said in May that the agency is actively taking over cryptocurrencies.

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