A scandal is growing around the sanctioned crypto broker Suex in Russia as one of the founders of the OTC platform has been fired from his executive position at a bank. Meanwhile, an anti-drug organization referred the case to the Ministry of Interior and the Central Bank, asking authorities to investigate Suex’s ties to financial firms and darknet marketplaces operating in the region.
Suex co-founder fired by MTS Bank, another quit a job at Chatex
Kommersant reports that Russian businessman and CFO Vasily Zabikin, one of the founders of the troubled crypto broker Suex, has been laid off from his management position at MTS Bank, where he headed the innovative Neo Bank project. Citing a source familiar with the matter, the leading Russian business newspaper added that the dismissal was due to US sanctions imposed on the platform’s alleged money laundering operations.
The news comes after one of Zhabykin’s Suex partners, co-owner of Egor Petukhovsky, announced that he is leaving crypto-exchange bot Chatex, a company associated with Suex. In a Facebook post published on Friday, Petukhovsky responded to what he called a “smear campaign in the media,” noting that neither he nor any of his affiliates had engaged in whatsoever illegal activities.
“I intend to firmly defend my name in litigation in the USA,” Suex co-founder revealed.
Besides Zhabykin and Petukhovsky, other individuals believed to be associated with the cryptocurrency broker include Ildar Zakirov, Maxim Subbotin and Maxim Kurbangaleev, who has denied direct involvement in it, and Czech capitalist Tibor Bokor, who is said to be one of the Suex CEOs along with Zhabykin. The platform is incorporated in the Czech Republic under the name Suex OTC sro but is said to operate from physical offices in the Russian Federation, including branches in the capital, Moscow and Saint Petersburg.
Stopnarkotik urges Russian authorities to investigate alleged Suex partners Exmo, Qiwi and Concord Bank
Meanwhile, the All-Russian public movement Stopnarkotik has informed the Central Bank of Russia and the Interior Ministry about Suex’s alleged links with Exmo, a major cryptocurrency exchange in Eastern Europe, and financial services firm Qiwi, Russia’s leading payment provider. And CIS countries and Concorde Bank, headquartered in Ukraine.
An investigation by the organization, which is dedicated to combating the spread of drugs in the country, also found that Suex was involved in money laundering for the region’s largest darknet market and drug trading platform, Hydra, which has discretionary estimates. Annual turnover of at least 1.5 billion dollars in the Russian Federation alone.
According to Kommersant, Stopnarkotik has asked the Bank of Russia to verify the operations of Suex, Exmo and Qiwi in Russia and to consider blocking payments from Russian residents to the Ukrainian bank. It also called on the Ministry of the Interior to verify all the facts and to hold all persons concerned accountable. The newspaper reviewed the official requests submitted to the two institutions.
Exmo rejected allegations of involvement in Seux’s activities and asserted that Egor Petukhovsky is not a co-founder of the exchange and has never been part of its management. The company noted that there are no family relations with the founder of Exmo, Ivan Petukhovsky, although their last names match. Speaking to Forklog earlier this week, Exmo director of development Maria Stankevich confirmed that Suex had made some of its first transactions through the exchange but insisted “there is nothing illegal about it.”
Qiwi stated that the information about its links with other companies and the Ukrainian bank mentioned by Stopnarkotik does not correspond to reality. The Financial Services Group, which represents platforms such as Qiwi Kiosks, Qiwi Wallet and Qiwi Bank in Russia and the region, confirmed that it operates within the framework of Russian law and does not carry out activities like those described in the filings.
What do you think of the latest developments in the Suex case? Let us know in the comments section below.
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