Former Russian chief investigator receives 16-year sentence for $65M BTC bribe case

Marat Tambiev, a former chief investigator for the Investigative Committee of Russia, was sentenced to 16 years in prison for accepting a bribe of 1,032 BTC (around $65M). Tambiev was accused of taking the Bitcoin bribe from a hacking group he was investigating called ‘the Infraud Organization.’

Tambiev reportedly negotiated a deal in which he received nearly half of the group’s illegally obtained Bitcoin loot in exchange for not confiscating it. He allegedly pled not guilty to all charges, and his lawyers disclosed that they would file an appeal. The bribers reportedly received suspended sentences.

Investigator is jailed for receiving record bribe in BTC 

Russia has sentenced ex-investigator Marat Tambiyev to 16 years for accepting $65M in bitcoin bribes from hackers.

— Satoshi Club Alerts (@satoshi_alerts) October 9, 2024

Reuters reported that Mr. Tambiyev was found guilty under Part 6 of Article 290 (accepting large-scale bribes) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Kommersant, a Russian publishing house, stated that the case was brought against Tambiev by the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation and the Prosecutor General’s office. 

According to the local media, Tambiev received the Bitcoin bribe from members of the Infraud Organization hacker group Mark Bergman, Konstantin Bergman, and Kirill Samokutyaevsky. The alleged bribe was discovered during a search of Tambiev’s apartment in Moscow. It was established that he owned 1,032 BTC accessible through associated codes stored in Mac under a file named ‘Pension.’ The investigating authorities claimed the bribe was at least five times higher than the record bribe reported in recent times. 

The seized Bitcoin was reportedly transferred to a specified wallet, and the hardware wallet with the access keys was kept in the material evidence storage room of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation. 

Tambiev reportedly claimed he was innocent, saying that it was a setup and that his actions had helped the state uncover and recover criminal funds. 

A low-ranking colleague of Tambiev, Kristina Lyakhovenko, also received a nine-year sentence for crimes associated with the case. 

Russia is cracking down on corrupt officials in its administration

According to the IBC Group, Tambiev’s case was evidence of deep corruption even in Russia’s government circles. 

On August 7, Reuters reported that a former Russian deputy defense minister arrested in April was facing new $33.4 million (~3B roubles) embezzlement charges. State news agency TASS claimed that the charges against Timur Ivanov involved transferring over 3 billion Roubles from the Interkommerts Bank to shell company accounts in Cyprus and Hong Kong. 

The other case against the former official involved the purchase of two vessels for the Kerch Strait ferry line worth at least 200 million Roubles. Ivanov was also reported to have denied all charges.

The 49-year-old Ivanov also faced a separate criminal case for taking bribes, which lasted up to 15 years in prison. 

Another deputy defense minister, Dmitry Bulgakov, was arrested and charged with corruption in July. His arrest reportedly unveiled the biggest Russian army scandal in years.