Police Filings Mount as Crypto Traders Demand Funds Stuck in WEX Exchange

Users of the long-troubled cryptocurrency exchange WEX have begun filing police reports after more than three months of being unable to withdraw major cryptocurrencies or fiat, CoinDesk has learned.

A WEX trader named Ruslan, who has been encouraging other users to seek an official investigation, told CoinDesk that as many as 35 such reports have been filed thus far online through the website of the Russian Interior Ministry.

WEX was built on the ashes of BTC-e, a shadow exchange that ultimately collapsed after U.S. officials seized its domain and then slapped BTC-e and its suspected operator with a massive $110 million fine.

Those issues continue to this day, with the price of USDT - a controversial stablecoin that lost its parity with the U.S. dollar last week - trading for a whopping $6.99 on WEX. As such, WEX traders - after months of demanding answers - are taking matters into their own hands, seeking an investigation in an effort to get their money back.

What's more, recent developments continue to further stoke questions over who is actually running WEX and, by association, who is safeguarding user funds.

Ruslan told CoinDesk that he hoped to make law enforcement take measures against WEX's CEO Dmitri Vasiliev and "His conspirators" to prevent them from initiating any new projects in crypto.

To be sure, users say they've been able to withdraw certain coins from WEX since the troubles began - but at a very steep cost.

Their prices on WEX are extremely high compared to the rest of the market, so buying them just to get money off the platform is an expensive proposition.

According to the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority of Singapore, where WEX is registered, as of Monday, Vasilev was still listed as the owner.

With traders devastated by the situation, trading volume on WEX, once in the tens of millions, has plunged to less than $1 million daily.