The Tallinn District Court of Estonia has given a big verdict regarding the extradition of HashFlare crypto scam co-founders Ivan Turogin and Sergei Potapenko. The court has rejected the extradition order sought by the US. The court says that the conditions of detention in the US are not satisfactory and there are many legal flaws in the extradition process.
Table of Contents
- What is the Case?
- Why Did the Court Stop the Extradition Process?
- Estonia’s Initial Stance
- What Will Happen Next?
- Conclusion
What is the case?
Ivan Turogin and Sergei Potapenko are accused of defrauding about $575 million (about ₹4800 crores) between 2015 and 2019 through an alleged crypto mining service called “HashFlare”. The US prosecution claims that both of them lured investors with false profits and fake services of cloud mining. Apart from this, they also inspired people to invest in a fictitious digital bank called ‘Polybius Bank’, which had no real existence.
Why did the court stop the extradition process?
The Tallinn District Court described the circumstances of US detention as “inappropriate for human rights” and said there was not enough transparency in the judicial process. According to the court, the extradition documents submitted by the US were not in line with European court standards.
Earlier, the Estonian government had accepted the US request, but after this decision of the court, the process has been stopped.
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What will happen next?
The US or Estonian government can appeal against this decision of the court in the High Court. If no appeal is made, both the accused will remain in Estonia for the time being and action can be taken against them under local laws.
Conclusion:
This case not only highlights the complexities of crypto fraud, but also shows that in international matters, extradition is not only a matter of consent between two countries, but also of respect for human rights and judicial processes. It remains to be seen in the coming days what stand the US takes against this decision.
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