Aleksei Andriunin, the founder of market maker Gotbit, was extradited from Portugal to the US on February 26 to face charges of fraud and token price manipulation in the cryptocurrency sector. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) claims that Andriunin and Gotbit were behind a large-scale scheme to manipulate the token prices of paid cryptocurrency projects.
Gotbit and the Token Price Manipulation Scheme
Andriunin, 26 years old, a Russian citizen, was arrested in October 2024 at the request of the US authorities. Subsequently, a Boston grand jury charged him with serious allegations such as online fraud, market manipulation, and financial fraud. If convicted, Andriunin could face a sentence of up to 25 years in prison.
Not only Andriunin, but the DOJ is also targeting Gotbit and two other directors of this company, Fedor Kedrov and Qawi Jalili, both of whom are Russian nationals.
Gotbit's Market Manipulation Tactics
From 2018 to 2024, Gotbit provided token price manipulation services for numerous cryptocurrency projects, including companies based in the US. The tactics used include:
Wash trading: Creating fake trading orders to deceive investors.
Token price pumping: Inflating the token's value to create false demand.
Liquidity control: Faking trading volume to create the illusion of high liquidity for the token.
Notably, Andriunin has never hidden the nature of Gotbit's operations. In an interview with CoinDesk in 2019, while still a second-year student at Moscow State University, he admitted that his business was 'not entirely ethical.' This is seen as corroborating evidence for the DOJ's allegations that Gotbit deliberately manipulated the market for years.
Tens of Millions of USD in Profits from Fraudulent Activities
Court records show that Gotbit has made tens of millions of USD from market manipulation activities. Individual Andriunin is accused of transferring millions of USD in profits to his personal Binance account, indicating that he not only organized but also directly benefited from illegal transactions.
Currently, Andriunin has had his first hearing in Boston on February 26, while the next hearing has yet to be scheduled. Investigations into Gotbit's activities and the companies that previously collaborated with this organization are still expanding, promising to continue uncovering market manipulation activities in the cryptocurrency sector.
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