Polish police have arrested Ivan Manuel Molina Lee, president of Crypto Capital, on accusations of money laundering.
According to reports in Polish newspaper W Polityce and news portal RMF24, the crypto entrepreneur was extradited to Warsaw, Poland under police escort. Polish authorities claim that Molina Lee is wanted in Poland for laundering up to 1.5 billion zloty or about $390 million âfrom illegal sources,â according to the Polish report.
Authorities wrote that Molina Leeâs crimes included âlaundering dirty money for Columbian drug cartels using a cryptocurrency exchange.â
Polish prosecutors claim that Crypto Capital held accounts in Bank SpóÅdzielczy in the town of Skierniewice and that Molina Lee and Bitfinex laundered illegal proceeds through the country.
The company has been in trouble before. Molina Lee is directly connected with a U.S. Department of Justice claim that charged two individuals with running a âshadow bankingâ service that provided bank accounts for crypto companies. His company, Crypto Capital, allegedly lost $880 million of Bitfinexâs cash, leading to a $1 billion token sale this year.
âThis the largest effort by Polish prosecutors to secure losses associated with illegal activity,â wrote Polish prosecutors, adding:
âThe effort was a combined effort between Polisha and international special forces. The proceedings were conducted by prosecutors from the Lower Silesian Branch of the Department for Organized Crime and Corruption of the National Prosecutorâs Office in WrocÅaw and officers who closely cooperated with Europol, Interpol and US services, including the DEA.â
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