Gotbit Founder to Forfeit $23 Million After Plea Deal in U.S. Crypto Fraud Case

Highlights:

• Aleksei Andriunin has agreed to forfeit assets after authorities extradited him to the United States.
• Andriunin pleaded guilty to the charges and might avoid paying additional fines.
• Gotbit inflated the prices of some crypto projects and misled investors.

Aleksei Andriunin, Gotbit founder, has agreed to a plea deal with the authorities in his ongoing case. According to the deal, he will forfeit $23 million in assets linked to manipulation and wire fraud charges. The agreement follows his extradition to the United States from Portugal after authorities arrested him four months earlier. Andriunin pleaded guilty to one count of manipulation and two counts of fraud.

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Aleksei Andriunin, the founder of Gotbit, has reached a plea agreement with U.S. authorities, agreeing to forfeit $23 million in cryptocurrency assets in exchange for a settlement on market manipulation charges. Andriunin originally faced up to 20 years in prison on charges…

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If the judge accepts the plea agreement, the court may impose no further fines beyond the asset forfeiture. This will enable him to avoid long prison time. The sentence under the plea agreement includes a term of up to 24 months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release, during which Andriunin would be forbidden from engaging in any crypto-related activity.

The court filing states that either party may withdraw from the agreement if the court rejects any part of the plea deal. Prosecutors emphasized that Andriunin’s actions harmed investors who bought crypto assets at high prices due to manipulated markets. The case is part of a broader investigation into activities linked to several crypto firms.

Stablecoins to Be Forfeited as Part of Deal

As part of his plea agreement, Andriunin must forfeit stablecoins totaling $23 million, including approximately $14 million in USDT and $9 million in USDC. Andriunin kept the funds in four wallets under the name of Gotbit Consulting LLC. While the assets were under Gotbit’s name, Andriunin had exclusive control of the wallets. The parties agreed to pursue civil forfeiture instead of criminal forfeiture.

Prosecutors maintain that Gotbit acted as a market maker and carried out wash trading between 2018 and 2024. These trades create an illusion of high trading activity for the tokens involved. According to court documents, the company helped several crypto projects by artificially increasing their market volume.

In a separate filing, the SEC revealed that Gotbit kept internal records that compared artificially generated trading volumes to legitimate market activity. In addition, prosecutors noted that Gotbit actively advertised these services to those in search of potential clients who wanted to obscure their trading patterns on blockchains. Andriunin also acknowledged in a 2019 interview cited by the Department of Justice that the business practices of the company were not completely ethical.

U.S. Crackdown on Crypto Market Manipulation Expands

Gotbit is one of four companies charged in what authorities describe as a major case targeting manipulation in the crypto sector. The other three firms involved are ZM Quant, CLS Global, and MyTrade. They are facing similar charges relating to manipulation schemes. Prosecutors outlined that, beyond the forfeiture of assets, Andriunin could also face probation terms and additional conditions after serving prison time.

They also warned that the Gotbit founder could face financial penalties of up to $500,000. Moreover, he may pay twice the amount gained or lost from the offenses. The Department of Justice will continue to pursue action against crypto firms accused of misleading market participants through fraudulent trading practices.

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