Accused Bitcoin- (BTC)-e operator Alexander Vinnik has apparently been extradited to America to stand up to multiple charges associated with money washing while working in the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange.
Vinnik continues to be embroiled in lawsuits in the last 5 years for his alleged role because the mastermind of BTC-e. The cryptocurrency exchange is stated to possess profited from various illicit activities that used the woking platform to launder some $4 billion price of Bitcoin.
Vinnik’s lawyer Frédéric Bélot told American news network CNN on Frida that Vinnik is at transit from A holiday in greece towards the U . s . States, where he’s set to manage a raft of charges within the Northern District Court of California. The Russian national is charged with money washing and operating an unlicensed money service in the usa, additionally with other charges.
The accused was already serving a 5-year sentence in France since December 2020, after he was charged for the money washing included in a structured criminal group. Vinnik’s lawyers had launched an appeal which was unsuccessful, maintaining that Vinnik only agreed to be an worker from the exchange coupled with no participation in illicit activities at BTC-e.
Related: A existence after crime: What goes on to crypto grabbed in criminal investigations?
Vinnik was initially arrested in A holiday in greece during vacation in 2017, using the U . s . States, France and Russia tussling for his extradition from there onwards. Greece’s Council of Condition opted to extradite Vinnik to France at the begining of 2020, despite numerous attempts by Russia to request his transit to the jurisdiction.
As formerly as reported by Cointelegraph, Vinnik had decided to an extradition request from Russia, considering that he faced much less serious charges. In comparison, Vinnik faces as much as 55 years imprisonment in the usa with 21 counts of unlicensed money service business, money washing and related crimes filed through the Department of Justice.
