🥷 17-year-old Canadian caught in a spy scandal
In 2023, Laiken Payven from Canada went to Donbas, where he soon fell into the hands of the FSB and became their agent. He was tasked with going to Europe, with expenses covered in bitcoins — initially $130, then more. In total, he received over $500, which he was supposed to cash out in Poland. However, upon arriving in Warsaw, he got scared and turned himself in to the police, confessing to connections with Russian intelligence. The court sentenced him to 20 months in prison.
Experts found that payments to Payven came from crypto wallets linked to the FSB. One of the wallets conducted transactions totaling over $600 million. Analysts point out that Moscow increasingly uses cryptocurrency to fund agents in order to avoid sanctions.
