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In a significant development in the cryptocurrency world, Estonia has decided to extradite HashFlare founders Ivan Turogin and Sergey Potapenko to the <a href="https://ultramining.com/news/en/pennsylvania-a-new-hub-for-cryptomining-ignites-environmental-concerns/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">United States</a>. The duo faces charges of operating a financial pyramid scheme through their cloud mining service, HashFlare. This decision comes after a long legal battle involving both Estonian and <a href="https://ultramining.com/news/en/senator-lummis-pushes-for-crypto-regulation-amid-sec-lawsuits/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">U.S.</a> law enforcement agencies, according to <a href="https://hashtelegraph.com/jestonija-reshila-jekstradirovat-v-ssha-osnovatelej-hashflare-ivana-turogina-i-sergeja-potapenko/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Hashtelegraph</a>.
HashFlare, once a prominent cloud mining company, ceased operations in 2019 amidst allegations of fraud. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) claims that Turogin and Potapenko deceived investors by offering contracts for a portion of mining capacity to generate cryptocurrency. The indictment alleges that HashFlare lacked the necessary <a href="https://ultramining.com/hardware/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">hardware</a> and had less than 1% of the claimed processing power. When customers requested withdrawals, payments were often delayed, or the returns were paid using virtual currency bought on the open market, not through mining as promised.
Initially, an Estonian appeals court suspended the extradition, citing concerns about detention conditions in U.S. custody. However, the Estonian government subsequently provided sufficient evidence of adequate detention conditions in the U.S., satisfying the court's concerns and paving the way for extradition. Turogin and Potapenko face up to 20 years in prison each on 18 counts of conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering.
The fraudulent activities of HashFlare have reportedly affected "hundreds of thousands" of victims, with the company earning around $575 million during its operation. The FBI continues to seek out victims of the scheme as part of its ongoing <a href="https://ultramining.com/news/en/large-scale-cryptocurrency-mining-farm-uncovered-in-dagestans-kizilyurtovsky-district/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">investigation</a>.

Estonia Approves Extradition of HashFlare Founders to the US on Fraud Charges

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