Gottit founder reaches plea agreement with US authorities to forfeit $23 million in cryptocurrency assets

According to Decrypt, Gottit founder Aleksei Andriunin has reached a plea agreement with US authorities to forfeit $23 million in cryptocurrency assets related to market manipulation charges. According to court documents cited by Law360, Andriunin's involvement in Gotbit resulted in financial "damage" to "decentralized market participants" who purchased cryptocurrencies at "fraudulently inflated prices". The founder of Gottit was extradited to the United States at the end of February, after being arrested in Portugal four months ago. A plea agreement may result in Andriunin not having to go to jail and not having to pay additional fines other than confiscation of assets. However, the court reserves the final discretion over the terms of the judgment. The total amount of assets confiscated by civil authorities is $23 million, including stablecoins issued by Tether and Circle, stored in four wallets under Andriunin's "complete control". According to court documents, Andriunin will be released under supervision for three years, during which he will be strictly prohibited from participating in any encryption activities. In November of last year, it was reported that the US Department of Justice had sued the CEO of Gottit for allegedly planning large-scale fraudulent transactions.