A Russian government official, Marat Tambiev, allegedly collected $28 million in Bitcoin bribes from a hacker group he was investigating.
Local media Kommersant first reported the incident and described it as the country’s most significant single bribery case.
Over 1,000 BTC in Bribes
Prosecutors first caught wind of the Bitcoin bribes when investigating a criminal allegation of corruption against him. They found that he is the owner of 1,032.1 BTC.
According to investigations, Mr. Tambiev got the cryptocurrency on April 7, 2022, from Infraud Organization Mark hacker group members. At the time, he was investigating members of the group. He got paid in exchange for not seizing their assets.
Tambiev is the head of an investigative department for the Committee for the Tver district of Moscow and received these funds from hackers while in that role. His corruption led to the termination of his employment.
