Bitcoin money laundering criminals are being hunted down around the world

Bitcoin has become a tool for money laundering? Greek police said on Wednesday (July 26) that a man was suspected of laundering at least $4 billion through a Bitcoin platform called BTC-e since 2011. Police confirmed that the arrested person was Alexander Vinnik, 38, who is wanted. The criminal is a Russian. He was arrested by Greek police in a small seaside village in the north of the country. US authorities are seeking to extradite him to the United States for trial.

Greek police issued a statement saying that since 2011, the 38-year-old suspect has been running a criminal organization and managing one of the world's most important electronic crime websites. The platform had deposited 7 million bitcoins and 5.5 million had been withdrawn. Bitcoin is the first digital currency that successfully uses encryption technology to ensure transaction security and concealment, making traditional financial supervision difficult.

Meanwhile, US police are trying to extradite another criminal, Peter Levashov, who US prosecutors allege was also guilty of hacking and attacking the Internet.

Vinnik's arrest is part of a series of crackdowns by U.S. authorities on Russian cybercrime in Europe. Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice joined forces with several countries to shut down AlphaBay, the world's largest "dark web" marketplace.

Scrutiny of Russian hackers has intensified in the United States after U.S. intelligence officials accused them of interfering in the 2016 presidential election to help Trump, something Russia has denied.

BTC-e is one of the oldest and most secretive virtual currency trading platforms, which allows users to anonymously trade between fiat currencies and Bitcoin. BTC-e has long been passive about user identity authentication and anti-money laundering regulations, making BTC-e a favorite place for money laundering.