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Alleged Bitcoin launderer extradited to US after 5 years in prison
The US indicted Vinnik and defunct crypto exchange BTC-e in 2017 over illegal profits. He is alleged to have played a role in laundering Bitcoin stolen in the Mt. Gox hack. Suspected Bitcoin launderer Alexander Vinnik was extradited to the US about five years after his first indictment. Vinnik, a Russian citizen, was the alleged operator of the defunct cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e. He left Greece on Thursday after being arrested in several countries. “Alexander was transferred from Paris to Athens early yesterday afternoon,” his French lawyer Frédéric Bélot told Blockworks in an emailed...
Alleged Bitcoin launderer extradited to US after 5 years in prison
- Die USA haben Vinnik und die nicht mehr existierende Krypto-Börse BTC-e im Jahr 2017 wegen illegaler Gewinne angeklagt
- Er soll eine Rolle beim Waschen von Bitcoin gespielt haben, das beim Mt.-Gox-Hack gestohlen wurde
Alleged Bitcoin launderer Alexander Vinnik was extradited to the US about five years after he was first charged.
Vinnik, a Russian citizen, was the alleged operator of the defunct cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e. He left Greece on Thursday after being arrested in several countries.
“Alexander was transferred from Paris to Athens early yesterday afternoon,” his French lawyer Frédéric Bélot told Blockworks in an emailed statement Friday. “It was then transferred from Athens to Boston (to refuel) and arrived in San Francisco that night.”
The lawyer added that he would continue to defend Vinnik together with an American lawyer. Vinnik faces up to 55 years in prison in the USA.
CNN, which first reported the development, said Vinnik is expected to appear in court in the Northern District of California. The report did not give a release date.
Vinnik was calculated in 2017 for operating an unlicensed money services business and suspected money laundering. The Justice Department accused him of a long list of crimes, including identity theft, facilitating drug trafficking and aiding and abetting the laundering of the proceeds of crime.
He was arrested in Greece at the request of the United States this year during a family vacation. Since then, the USA, France and Russia have been fighting over his extradition.
France saw success in 2020, where Vinnik faced five years in prison for alleged money laundering. More recently the USA allegedly has withdrawn his own extradition request. But his lawyer suggested this was a diversionary ploy aimed at speeding up the trial through Greece - where Vinnik was originally arrested.
Vinnik believes he is not a Bitcoin launderer
Vinnik is said to have processed some of these via BTC-e 530,000 Bitcoins (around $9 million at the time, nearly $13 billion today) from Mt. Gox, where he allegedly served as the platform's administrator.
He said Russia today 2017 that he did not consider himself guilty. According to him, the US has no right to convict a Russian citizen.
His wife told the same outlet she was convinced the U.S. was after him because of his " intellectual abilities “ and denied ever having operated BTC-e.
Founded in 2011, BTC-e enabled trading between the US dollar, Russian ruble, some European currencies, Bitcoin, Litecoin and Ether.
The exchange, which was shut down in 2017 following a 21-count indictment, received over $4 billion worth of Bitcoin during its operation, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network fined BTC-e $110 million and Vinnik $12 million for their role in the 2017 breaches.
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The post Alleged Bitcoin launderer extradited to US after 5 years in prison is not financial advice.