Greece extradited a Russian IT and cryptocurrency expert convicted of money laundering in France to the United States, hours after his release from prison, his lawyer announced Friday. Alexander Vinnik “was placed on a private plane bound for the United States” without being allowed to apply for asylum in Greece, said his lawyer, Zoe Konstantopoulou.
Alexander Vinnik, 43, had been handed over to Greece by the French authorities on Thursday afternoon, just weeks after his final sentence in Paris to five years in prison for money laundering by the Court of Cassation, the highest authority French court, said in France. a source close to the file.
Father of two children, Alexander Vinnik spent two years in prison in France after being extradited by Greece. He was arrested in July 2017 in the Greek coastal town of Halkidiki (north) and Greece decided to hand him over to France, while Russia and the United States also requested his extradition. Arrived in the United States, he was presented Friday before a federal judge in San Francisco, the US Department of Justice announced in a statement.
21 beads
He is the subject of 21 charges, including identity theft, complicity in drug trafficking and money laundering. Prosecutors accuse Alexander Vinnik “of running BTC-e, a criminal cryptocurrency exchange platform that laundered more than $4 billion in criminal proceeds.” This tool has “facilitated transactions for cybercriminals around the world” by “allowing its users to exchange bitcoins with a high level of anonymity,” the US justice said.
In Russia, on the other hand, he is only accused of fraud for an amount of 9,500 euros. Russia is “outraged by the hostile actions of Greece, which, under pressure from the United States” extradited Alexander Vinnik to “American punitive justice”, the Russian Foreign Ministry reacted in a press release in the afternoon. “Despite an official request from the Russian embassy in Athens, no consular staff, neither his lawyer nor his interpreter, were allowed to see him,” the statement said.
“Russian diplomats will do everything possible to defend their legitimate rights and interests,” he said.
Source: BFM TV
