Aleksei Andriunin, a national Russian charged with cryptocurrency manipulation through the Gotbit market manufacturer’s platform, has been reported to have struck a plea to prosecutors in the United States.
Gotbit founder and CEO Andriunin said to lose about $ 23 million in the Tether USDT (USDT) and USDC (USDC) of the Circle (USDC) in a plea deal at the Massachusetts Federal Prosecutors, the Legal News Service Law360 reported on March 19.
As part of the plea, Andriunin will be asked to be guilty of three numbers to charge the conspiracy to make wire fraud and market manipulation, According to in a letter signed by the defendant on March 19.
An excerpt from the letters in case of Gotbix founder related to $ 23 million forfeiture as part of the plea with Massachusetts prosecutors: Law360
“Defendant understands and admits that forfeiture will not satisfy or affect any fine, lien, penalty, restoration, cost of imprisonment, tax responsibility or any other debt owed to the United States,” the letter read.
Agreement does not bind to the US general attorney
In a letter to the defendant, the US lawyer for the Massachusetts district Lea Foley, emphasized that the agreement to lose $ 23 million was only between Andriunin and the lawyer.
“It does not tie the general of the United States attorney or any other federal, state, or local persecution authorities,” the letter reads.
The letter also states that the defendant understands that the court does not need to follow the proposed calculations of the subjugation within the guidelines from the Massachusetts attorney.
An excerpt from the legal letters in the case of the founder of Gotbix related to the guidelines for the prosecutors of Massachusetts: Law360
“The defendant may not recover the accused’s offense if the accused does not agree with how the court calculates the rules or sentences imposed by the court,” wrote Attorney Foley.
Andriunin was extradited to the US in October 2025
Gotbit Founder’s deal with Massachusetts prosecutors arrived months after Andriunin was extradited to the US In October 2024 after being arrested by authorities in Portuguese.
Due to the extradition, Andriunin appeared in a federal court in Boston, Massachusetts, where he was ordered to remain confined to further notice.
Andriunin, 26, is Said with wire fraud and conspiracy to make market manipulation and wire fraud at a superseding indictment in October 2024.
Source: Alex Andriunin
According to In the Massachusetts court documents, Gotbit was a “market manufacturer” that had eased a “extensive cryptocurrency market manipulation scheme.” The platform was registered in Belize and said to provide artificial trading volume for global companies, including those in the US, between 2017 and 2024.
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Aside from Andriunin, the criminal complaint from Massachusetts authorities in September 2024 also involved other Gotbit employees, such as marketing director Fedor Kedrov and sales director Qawi Jahati, who both live in Russia.
In the letter of the plea, the Massachusetts attorney Foley mentioned that the property listed in the Forfeiture section of the Gotbit Plea Agreement were only controlled by the defendant on behalf of Gotbit despite these possessions belonging to Gotbit.
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