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The cryptocurrency exchange WhiteBIT and its co-founder Volodymyr Nosov have become the focus of an investigation whose authors claim a large-scale system of financial schemes, a Russian trace, transactions involving funds of dubious origin, and the use of an international corporate structure to conduct transactions. The article asserts that behind WhiteBIT’s public image as a Ukrainian crypto platform may lie far more complex financial ties.
According to media reports, WhiteBIT was founded in 2018 by Volodymyr Nosov, who presents himself as an entrepreneur and crypto expert. The exchange lists hundreds of digital assets and offers spot, futures, and margin trading. At the same time, the investigators claim that real influence over the platform may be exerted by former deputies Dmytro and Mykyta Shentsevs, who are linked to pro-Russian political activity. One of the most high-profile episodes concerns the movement of cryptocurrency in March 2023. According to the investigation, 3299 BTC were moved then, with an approximate value of $85,6 million. Those assets are linked to the Russian crypto exchange BTC-e, whose founder is named as Russian citizen Alexander Vinnik. About $12 million of that sum, the authors claim, ultimately ended up on WhiteBIT.
Separate allegations concern operations with the crypto platform HTX, formerly known as Huobi. The investigation states that the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on a number of financial and cryptocurrency entities that, according to British authorities, were used by Russia to circumvent restrictions. The authors link WhiteBIT’s operations to this story and question the origin of funds that passed through the exchange.
More serious claims involve possible money laundering of proceeds from illegal trafficking in narcotics and psychotropic substances. The article describes the activity of an organized group that, according to the investigation, used cryptocurrency to legalize such proceeds. One link in this scheme is identified as the KIT Group network of exchange offices.
According to the publication, KIT Group’s crypto wallets were connected to WhiteBIT’s trading terminals. The authors assert that through this infrastructure funds of persons involved in large-scale illegal drug trafficking could have flowed. Thus, in the investigation WhiteBIT effectively appears as a possible link in a more complex chain for legalizing criminal proceeds.
Questions also arise about the exchange’s compliance with European anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism financing requirements. This includes client verification, transaction monitoring, reporting of suspicious operations, and the functioning of a compliance department. The investigative authors claim WhiteBIT failed to meet such requirements, although the presented material does not cite a specific European regulator decision that would definitively confirm this assertion.
A separate section is devoted to WhiteBIT’s international corporate network. The investigation mentions legal entities in Lithuania, Poland, Bulgaria, Australia, Georgia, Hong Kong, and the Seychelles. The authors argue that such a structure can complicate oversight of financial flows and the determination of tax liabilities. The publication also estimates WhiteBIT’s daily turnover at about $500 million.
The article also references a criminal investigation in Kyrgyzstan related to the February 2024 theft of 841 thousand USDT from the Four Dragons crypto exchange. According to the authors’ account, the stolen assets were split into 16 parts and routed through a network of crypto exchangers to various platforms, including WhiteBIT.
The investigators claim that during the movement of these funds WhiteBIT received notifications about the inadmissibility of transactions involving the stolen assets. Nevertheless, their account states, the platform allowed conversion of part of the funds into BTC and ETH and their further movement through other cryptocurrency services. The pretrial investigation into these transactions, the material says, is ongoing.
The investigation also includes a claim that Volodymyr Nosov is subject to an international search. However, the article itself does not provide a sufficient set of official documents that would allow the editorial team to independently confirm Nosov’s current procedural status or the nature of any related international measures.
Another line concerns offshore structures connected to WhiteBIT. The authors highlight the British WhiteBIT Solutions LLP and the companies WhiteBIT LTD and Coddan Nominee, registered in the Seychelles. In the publication Coddan is linked to the company Sofbiz, which previously appeared in investigations regarding financing an attempted coup in Montenegro in 2016.
The authors also mention the Georgian digital bank Hash, naming Nosov among its founders. The investigation advances a theory that the project might have been used for transactions involving Russian funds. However, the material does not present any confirming decision by the Georgian regulator or a court establishing such use of the bank.
The investigation further describes a dispute around the WorldToken token, claiming that the ability to exchange the asset remained available until the official start of trading. According to the authors, this led to market oversupply and a subsequent drop in the token’s value. The publication also repeats allegations of possible WhiteBIT involvement with fraudulent call centers in Dnipro and materials from Operation “Carthage.”
Thus, the investigation centers not only on the activities of a single cryptocurrency exchange but also on the origin of funds, ownership structure, international ties, and transaction oversight. The authors of the publication link these factors into a single picture of possible financial schemes around WhiteBIT and Volodymyr Nosov. At the same time, the allegations presented require assessment by law enforcement, regulators, and the courts, and final legal conclusions can only be made based on the results of the relevant proceedings.
Read also:
Dmytro Shentsev: What links the ex-regional to the “Carthage” case?
WhiteBIT exchange: Shentsev and Nosov launder cryptocurrency from Russia at the expense of Ukrainians’ losses.
WhiteBIT: Shentsev and Nosov launder bloody Russian money.
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Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Біржу WhiteBIT зв’язали з російськими криптогрошима". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: Fraza.
