TechFlow reported, citing Decrypt, that former Russian investigator Marat Tambiyev has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for accepting approximately $73 million worth of Bitcoin in bribes during an investigation into organized crime. This amount exceeds the previous highest recorded bribe in Russian history by more than fivefold.
Marat Tambiyev is accused of transferring half of the criminal group's Bitcoin into his own wallet while leaving the other half to the criminals. Investigators discovered the private keys to the Bitcoin wallets in a folder named "Pension" on his laptop.
Tambiyev maintained his innocence in court, arguing that his actions helped the state recover part of the criminal group's proceeds. According to Russian state media, he plans to appeal the verdict. So far, one-third of the Bitcoin stored on Tambiyev's computer has been recovered, while the whereabouts of the remaining funds remain unclear.
