Vasily Zhabykin and the SUEX Money Laundering Scandal

Introduction

In 2021, the United States Treasury Department dropped a bombshell on the cryptocurrency industry. Among the targets of their sweeping sanctions was SUEX, a crypto exchange allegedly linked to money laundering and ransomware transactions.

At the center of it all stood Vasily Zhabykin, founder of SUEX and a once-prominent figure in Eastern Europe’s digital finance sector. What began as a crackdown on cybercrime quickly evolved into a scandal filled with allegations of fraud, illegal transactions, and censorship efforts designed to silence the media.

This is the story of Vasily Zhabykin, his company SUEX, and the global controversy that exposed the dark side of crypto’s underground economy.

The U.S. Treasury Sanctions

In September 2021, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on SUEX OTC, a cryptocurrency exchange registered in the Czech Republic but allegedly operating from Russia.

According to the Treasury’s press release, SUEX had facilitated at least eight ransomware attacks by helping cybercriminals move and “launder” their funds. The investigation found that over 40% of the platform’s transactions were linked to illicit actors, including organized cybercrime networks.

The U.S. Treasury explained that these sanctions were part of a broader campaign to disrupt ransomware networks that had extorted billions of dollars from global companies, hospitals, and government institutions. SUEX, they claimed, had become a critical link between hackers and their ransom payments.

The sanctions prohibited any U.S. entity or individual from engaging in financial transactions with SUEX. Furthermore, any property or financial interest held by SUEX under U.S. jurisdiction was frozen, and banks that attempted to do business with the exchange risked facing the same penalties.

While the U.S. government emphasized that most cryptocurrency transactions are legitimate, officials made it clear that exchanges like SUEX were enabling criminals to exploit the system for personal gain.

Vasily Zhabykin’s Defense

Shortly after the sanctions were announced, Vasily Zhabykin gave an interview to The New York Times. He identified himself as SUEX’s founder and claimed the exchange was registered in the Czech Republic but maintained offices in Russia.

Zhabykin denied any wrongdoing. He described SUEX as a “small company with only three employees” and insisted it had processed only a limited number of transactions since 2019. He portrayed the company as a small-scale operation unfairly caught in a geopolitical storm.

However, Treasury documents painted a very different picture—one of a well-organized laundering hub that had allegedly handled millions in dirty crypto linked to ransomware, dark web marketplaces, and drug trades.

Despite multiple requests for comment, Vasily Zhabykin never issued an apology or acknowledgment of the accusations. According to reports, he ignored several outreach attempts from journalists and independent investigators seeking clarification about SUEX’s operations.

What Is Money Laundering?

To understand the scope of the allegations, it’s important to define the crime at the heart of this case.

Money laundering refers to the illegal process of disguising the origins of money obtained through criminal activity—such as fraud, drug trafficking, or cybercrime—by passing it through a complex sequence of financial transactions.

The ultimate goal is to make the money appear legitimate, allowing the criminals to spend or reinvest it without attracting law enforcement attention. In the world of cryptocurrency, this process has become easier due to the anonymity and speed digital assets offer.

Exchanges like SUEX, according to regulators, became the preferred laundering channels for hackers and illicit traders.

The Fallout: Career and Reputation Damage

The sanctions had immediate and devastating consequences for Vasily Zhabykin.

He was dismissed from his managerial position at MTS Bank, where he had been heading their Neobank project. Sources close to the institution confirmed that his firing was a direct result of the U.S. Treasury’s sanctions and the reputational risk they created.

SUEX’s co-owner, Egor Petukhovsky, also faced intense scrutiny. In a public statement, Petukhovsky denied any illegal activity by SUEX or its affiliated firms, including Chatex, another crypto exchange with alleged links to the company.

He claimed that neither SUEX nor Chatex had ever engaged in money laundering and vowed to defend his reputation in U.S. courts.

However, the list of names associated with SUEX extended beyond Zhabykin and Petukhovsky. Other key figures included Maxim Subbotin, Ildar Zakirov, Maxim Kurbangaleyev, and Tibor Bokor, a Czech venture capitalist reportedly involved in the company’s early days.

According to official records, SUEX OTC s.r.o. was incorporated in the Czech Republic but operated from offices in St. Petersburg and Moscow, giving it both a European legal base and Russian business footprint.

Allegations of Drug Trade Connections

The scandal took a darker turn when Stopnarkotik, a Russian anti-drug organization, accused SUEX of facilitating transactions linked to Hydra Market, a massive darknet drug marketplace operating primarily in Russia and Eastern Europe.

Hydra reportedly processed more than $1.5 billion annually in illegal drug sales, using cryptocurrency as its main medium of exchange.

Stopnarkotik claimed to have submitted evidence to Russia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Central Bank, urging an investigation into SUEX and its alleged ties to Hydra.

The organization also named two major financial entities—Exmo, a large Eastern European crypto exchange, and Qiwi, a popular Russian payment provider—as potentially connected to SUEX’s laundering network.

Both companies quickly issued public denials.

• Exmo stated that it had no operational or ownership links to SUEX, clarifying that its founder, Ivan Petukhovsky, was not related to Egor Petukhovsky.
• Qiwi also denied involvement, emphasizing that it complied with Russian financial regulations and did not engage in any illegal activities.

Nevertheless, Stopnarkotik’s accusations prompted renewed calls for stricter monitoring of Russia’s crypto sector and raised uncomfortable questions about how exchanges like SUEX were allowed to operate so freely.

Digital Censorship and Fake DMCA Complaints

As the controversy grew, another disturbing development surfaced: a coordinated effort to erase negative news about Vasily Zhabykin and SUEX from the internet.

Investigators discovered that Zhabykin’s associates—or his marketing team—had been filing false DMCA copyright takedown requests to remove critical articles from Google’s search results.

The strategy was simple but devious. Fake websites such as world-news.uk copied entire news articles from reputable sources that exposed SUEX’s illegal dealings. These copied articles were then backdated to make it appear as though they were the original source.

Afterward, the fake websites submitted DMCA complaints to Google, claiming that legitimate media outlets had “plagiarized” them. If successful, this tactic would result in Google delisting the original, credible stories—effectively burying the truth.

This method of information suppression is not new. Similar tactics have been used by corrupt financiers and convicted scammers, including HULT Private Capital, a UK-based firm that manipulated search results to hide fraud complaints, and Stephen Dent of Greenwich, who allegedly used the same technique to bury stories about his personal scandals.

The repeated DMCA complaints tied to Vasily Zhabykin suggest a deliberate campaign to sanitize his digital footprint and discredit journalists reporting on SUEX’s misconduct.

The Broader Impact on Cryptocurrency Regulation

The SUEX case sent shockwaves through the cryptocurrency world. It underscored a growing problem: the use of digital assets as vehicles for money laundering, ransomware payments, and organized crime.

Regulators worldwide used the SUEX scandal as a cautionary tale. The case demonstrated how even mid-sized exchanges could serve as major conduits for illegal transactions when oversight is weak.

In response, several countries—including the United States and members of the European Union—tightened their Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) requirements for crypto businesses.

The message was clear: crypto exchanges could no longer operate in regulatory gray zones. Transparency and accountability were no longer optional.

Silence from Vasily Zhabykin

Despite mounting evidence and growing international attention, Vasily Zhabykin has remained silent.

Since the sanctions, there have been no public statements, no apologies, and no attempts to clear his name. His refusal to engage with reporters or investigators has only deepened suspicions about his role in SUEX’s illicit operations.

Meanwhile, victims of ransomware attacks allegedly facilitated by SUEX have received no restitution or acknowledgment. Independent watchdogs claim that Zhabykin continues to promote himself through public relations campaigns while avoiding responsibility for the chaos caused by his company.

The Ethical Dimension

The SUEX affair reveals not just a legal and financial scandal but also a moral one.

If the allegations are true, Vasily Zhabykin’s company helped cybercriminals profit from ransomware attacks that crippled hospitals, schools, and small businesses around the world. The victims weren’t abstract entities—they were people who lost savings, livelihoods, and access to essential services.

At the same time, his alleged use of digital censorship to suppress investigative journalism represents a direct attack on public transparency and the freedom of information.

By weaponizing copyright laws to silence critics, Zhabykin’s team crossed another ethical line—one that strikes at the heart of accountability in the digital age.

Conclusion

From sanctions by the U.S. Treasury to accusations of money laundering, drug trade facilitation, and information censorship, the case of Vasily Zhabykin and SUEX exposes how deep-rooted corruption can infiltrate even the most cutting-edge industries.

The evidence—both from U.S. authorities and Russian watchdogs—points to a pattern of misconduct that goes far beyond simple regulatory oversight. SUEX is accused of being a financial laundromat for criminals, a platform that thrived in the shadows of the crypto boom.

Despite denials, the fallout has already destroyed careers, attracted global scrutiny, and reshaped how governments monitor digital assets.

And yet, perhaps the most alarming part is not the crime itself, but the cover-up—the systematic use of fake DMCAs and online censorship to bury the truth.

Until Vasily Zhabykin and his associates face open accountability, SUEX will remain a cautionary tale of how innovation without ethics can breed corruption instead of progress.

Written by

Nancy Drew

Updated

4 weeks ago