As Reuters confirmed that Alexander Vinnik arrested in Greece today is connected to BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange. He was arrested in a small beachside village in Greece, on a United States warrant.
"Since 2011 the 38-year-old has been running a criminal organization which administers one of the most important websites of electronic crime in the world," said in the statement, describing an alleged money laundering operation that "legalizes proceeds from illegal activities".
The arrest comes amid a broader international crackdown that has resulted in the closures of AlphaBay and Hansa, two of the world's most popular dark markets.
Founded in 2011, BTC-e is one of the oldest and most obscure virtual currency exchanges, allowing users to trade bitcoin anonymously against fiat currencies, such as the U.S. dollar, and other virtual currencies. According to an interview from 2013, BTC-e had 2 founders, Russian programmers Aleksey and Alexander, who wish to remain anonymous.
Personally, I was using this exchange since the beginning and lost about 1 BTC trading there in different currencies. Will keep this thread updated.