Crypto businessmen Ivan Turõgin and Sergei Potapenko were extradited last year after being ferried to Tallinn Airport to be handed over to U.S. authorities.

The pair's lawyers have announced that the U.S. Department of Justice has agreed to drop all but one of the charges against them, however.

Speaking through Estonian PR firm KPMS, lawyers Andrey Spektor and Mark E. Bini said: "Out of the 18 charges, 17 have been dropped, including the only money laundering charge."

"The businessmen's representatives intend to prove that customers did not suffer any losses, and will ask the judge not to impose a prison sentence on Turõgin and Potapenko," the statement went on.

Bini, acting for Potapenko, confirmed that his client has admitted to providing misleading information on crypto mining volumes his company, Hashflare, was involved in.

That concession includes a statement of remorse.

Bini said: "He has expressed remorse for his actions and takes responsibility for the mistake.

"The [U.S.] government confirms that Sergei Potapenko, Ivan Turõgin, and Hashflare sent cryptocurrency to mining service clients, which was valued at over $350 million at the time of transfer."

"Additionally, Potapenko and Turõgin have agreed to forfeit the assets frozen by the government in 2022 and to cooperate by disclosing their customer database, ensuring that the frozen funds can be used for repayments to all clients in a way that results in no financial losses for anyone," Bini went on.

"As Turõgin admitted today, one of his and Potapenko's companies pledged to mine cryptocurrency, and it did indeed mine crypto, but not quite as much as had been promised. Instead, they sometimes transferred crypto assets to clients that had been purchased on the open market. The important point, however, is that we have proven to the court that no client suffered any losses. Turõgin and Potapenko are looking forward to returning to Estonia and resuming their lives," Bini added.

Spektor, acting for Turõgin, added that both his client and Potapenko had been running successful businesses, had provided substantive services, employed close to 100 people in Estonia, and had contributed significantly to charitable causes.

The Estonian Central Criminal Police, in cooperation with the FBI in the U.S., arrested Turõgin and Potapenko in Tallinn on November 20, 2022.

According to the indictment, Potapenko and Turõgin had created a company that operated as a "Ponzi scheme" in encouraging people to invest in the Hashflare crypto mining operation. However, instead of using the invested funds for that mining, they had allegedly spent the money for personal gain.

The company listed hundreds of thousands of clients worldwide, while the potential loss amount is estimated to exceed half a billion euros.

On May 28, 2024, the police, following an executive order to do so, escorted Potapenko and Turõgin to Tallinn Airport, where they were handed over to representatives of the U.S. and extradited to that country.

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