- Andriunin pleads guilty, forfeits $23M in Tether and USDC.
- Andriunin pleads guilty to wire fraud, faces up to 24 months in prison.
- Court may decide the sentence after considering plea deal recommendations.
Gotbit founder, Aleksei Andriunin, pleaded guilty to market manipulation charges related to cryptocurrency. Andriunin must surrender $23 million worth of Tether and USDC tokens as part of the agreement. The plea deal requires Andriunin to admit his involvement in wire fraud and his role in conspiracy to crypto market manipulation.
Gotbit Founder’s Guilty Plea
Andriunin faces several fraud and manipulation charges as well as conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The settlement agreement mandates Andriunin to forfeit $18.7 million in USDT and $4.2 million in USDC. Gotbit owns the stablecoins although Andriunin manages them on behalf of the defunct company.
Andriunin admits three criminal counts which include conspiracy to commit wire fraud as part of the deal. The two additional wire fraud counts in Andriunin’s charges could result in a prison term of 20 years each. However, the U.S. Attorney’s office agrees to recommend a punishment of 24 months imprisonment with 36 months of supervised release and no financial penalties.
The court has the discretion to issue a final sentence despite any plea agreement. According to the deal Andriunin cannot withdraw his guilty plea even if the court issues a different final sentence. He has further agreed to abstain from cryptocurrency trading in the United States during his supervised release period.
Andriunin’s Arrest and Extradition
Andriunin was arrested in Portugal on October 8th 2024. He was then extradited to the United States on February 25th 2025 to face criminal charges. The court case against Andriunin involves his alleged involvement in wash trades to manipulate cryptocurrency market prices for his clients.
The scheme involved fake price increases on cryptocurrency assets to deceive investors in the market. The artificial market manipulation resulted in substantial financial losses for investors who purchased investors at inflated prices. When manipulation stopped the prices depreciated which resulted in major financial losses for investors.
The scheme also involved other companies such as ZM Quant, CLS Global and MyTrade which were charged. The FBI conducted a sting operation which revealed the involvement of these businesses in similar fraudulent operations. The FBI’s operation created NexFundAI cryptocurrency to track individuals behind market manipulation schemes.