Russian Gotbit’s founder attacks a $ 23 million guilt agreement with US prosecutors

Aleksei Andriunin, a Russian citizen accused of manipulating cryptocurrency through the Gotbit Market Maker platform, has reached a guilt agreement with prosecutors in the United States.

The founder and CEO of Gotbit, Andriunin, agreed to lose around $ 23 million in USDT (USDT) and the USDC (USDC) of Circle in a guilt agreement with federal prosecutors of Massachusetts, reported the Legal News Service 360 on March 19.

As part of the plea, Andriunin will declare himself guilty of three positions that charge conspiracy to commit electronic fraud and market manipulation, according to the letter signed by the defendant on March 19.

*An extract of the letters in the case of the founder of Gotbix related to the confiscation of $ 23 million as part of the plea with the Massachusetts prosecutors: Law360*

“The defendant understands and accepts that confiscation will not satisfy or affect any fine, tax, fine, restitution, cost of imprisonment, tax responsibility or any other debt owed to the United States,” says the letter.

The agreement does not join the United States Attorney General

In the letter to the defendant, the United States prosecutor for the Massachusetts district, Leah Foley, emphasized that the agreement to lose $ 23 million is only between Andriunin and the lawyer.

“It does not join the Attorney General of the United States or any other federal, state or local tax authority,” says the letter.

The letter also establishes that the defendant understands that the court is not obliged to follow the sentence calculations proposed within the guidelines of the Massachusetts lawyer.

*An extract of legal letters in the case of the founder of Gotbix related to sentence guidelines with Massachusetts prosecutors: Law360*

“The defendant cannot withdraw the defendant’s guilt declaration if the defendant does not agree with how the court calculates the guidelines or with the judgment imposed by the court,” said lawyer Foley.

Andriunin was extradited to the United States in October 2025

The agreement of the Gotbit founder with Massachusetts prosecutors occurred months later Andriunin was extradited to the United States in October 2024 after being arrested by the Portuguese authorities.

Since extradition, Andriunin appeared in a federal court in Boston, Massachusetts, where he was ordered to remain stopped until further notice.

Andriunin, 26, was loaded with electronic fraud and conspiracy to commit market handling and wire fraud in an accusation of replacement in October 2024.

According For the Massachusetts court documents, Gotbit was a “market manufacturer” cryptographic that orchestrated a “generalized scheme of manipulation of the cryptocurrency market.” The platform was registered in Belize and it was said that it provided an artificial trade volume for global companies, including those of the United States, between 2017 and 2024.

In addition to Andriunin, the criminal complaint of the Massachusetts authorities in September 2024 also involved other Gotbit employees, such as the Marketing Director Fedor Kedrov and the sales director Qawi Jalili, both who live in Russia.

In the guilt letter, Massachusetts lawyer, Foley, mentioned that the assets listed in the Gotbit guilt agreement are controlled only by the defendant on behalf of Gotbit despite the fact that these assets belong to Gotbit.

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