Gotbit Founder Extradited to US for Market Manipulation and Fraud

Founder Faces Charges in US
Gotbit founder Aleksei Andriunin has been extradited from Portugal to the United States to face charges of market manipulation and wire fraud. Andriunin was arrested on Oct. 8 by Portuguese authorities and sent to the US on Oct. 25. He later appeared in a federal court in Boston, where he was ordered to remain in custody, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.

Caught in an FBI Sting Operation
Andriunin and his firm, Gotbit, were reportedly caught in an FBI sting operation using a fake cryptocurrency, NexFundAI (NEXF), designed to identify fraudulent traders. A federal grand jury indicted Andriunin and Gotbit directors Fedor Kedrov and Qawi Jalili on Oct. 31 for allegedly engaging in deceptive trading practices.

Allegations of Market Manipulation
Authorities claim Gotbit provided market-making services using software that enabled wash trading[1] to artificially inflate trading volumes. They were also involved in the launch and manipulation of meme coins like water and beer. This manipulation helped clients secure token listings on exchanges and aggregators like CoinMarketCap. Kedrov and Jalili allegedly promoted these services and, in a 2019 interview, admitted to concealing wash trades on public blockchains.

Between 2018 and 2024, Gotbit reportedly earned “tens of millions of dollars” from these fraudulent activities. Investigators also accused Andriunin of transferring some of the illicit funds into his personal Binance account.

Legal Consequences
If convicted, Andriunin faces up to 20 years in prison for wire fraud and a $250,000 fine or twice the amount gained or lost in the crime. The conspiracy charges for market manipulation and wire fraud each carry a potential five-year prison sentence. Additionally, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a fraud lawsuit against Gotbit and Kedrov.

*[1] Wash trading: A form of market manipulation where traders buy and sell the same asset to create false trading activity and mislead investors.