Do you guys really think Putin would allow the Feds to come in and close BTC-e?
Are you for real?
I am, yeah.
The Russian take pride in those kinds of things. They will never allow a full US operation and shakedown in their turf.
If it were to happen (through cooperation), the Russians themselves would be doing all the arresting and sequestering. But meh.. who knows.. BTC-e might be helping them right now with some occasional laundering..
I don't see it happening. At least not until another big big round of alt pumping & dumping.
Sorry, I feel like there's some communication difficulty here. I will reduce sarcasm levels accordingly.
So what
They work with russian banks, russian payment systems and russian credit card processors.
You think anyone really cares where the company is founded?
Where's the money is what matters.
CoinDesk has learned that BTC-e does not use a bank account with a company name, instead choosing to use a third party to provide banking services.
Depositors send money to UK company Mayzus Financial Services Ltd’s Deutsche Bank account in the Czech republic who use OKPAY, an e-currency provider to transfer users’ funds directly to the exchange.
Other than rumors , nothing Russian in it.
You're chasing the rabbit. It's the same story:
OKPay is another Russian company registered abroad (British Virgin Islands) for fiscal purposes.
They operate through a network of banks in Cyprus, Czech Republic and Russia, so that should tell you something...
CoinDesk may have gotten the pretty side of the story. Russia and Cyprus sound a lot worse than just saying you operate in Czech Rep.
OK, here's what's going to happen, assuming anything
does happen (it took 7 years to take down Liberty Reserve).
1) Bulgaria, under pressure from the EU or acting alone, will issue a cease and desist / refuse to renew the business license.
2) BTC-e will disband formally and continue to operate.
3) A multi-international task force will form to lead the investigation. This will include Russia, just like it did for Liberty Reserve.
Understand that Russia is not a rogue state. Just because they sheltered Snowden in order to give the US a political black eye does NOT mean they interfere with financial investigations. They're not North Korea.
4) Legal jurisdiction for the prosecution of the individuals will almost certainly go to Bulgaria, who will extradite them at their discretion. As Bulgaria is part of the EU, that means they're fucked.
Some other things to keep in mind: Russian banks and payment services comply with US or international requests to freeze money. They like having the ability to transfer money internationally.
