BTC-e Operator Vinnik Who Laundered $4B Via BTC Extradited To U.S.

BTC-e operator Vinnik who laundered $4 billion via Bitcoin was extradited to the US by Greece in order to face charges for his crimes.

Alexander Vinnik, a Russian citizen aged 42, was extradited to the United States from Greece on Friday, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), to face many accusations of money laundering and running an unauthorized cryptocurrency exchange.

BTC-e operator Vinnik first encountered legal issues with the DOJ in 2017 over allegations that he illegally operated the now-defunct cryptocurrency trading platform BTC-e in the United States while assisting criminals in the laundering of at least $4 billion via Bitcoin.

Extradition squabble

He was detained in Greece that same year at the behest of the American authorities. Following his arrest, New Zealand authorities seized Vinnik’s $90 million worth of assets. A number of cybercrimes, including the laundering of illegal proceeds, ransomware attacks, fraud, theft, and drug offenses, were allegedly made easier by BTC-purported e’s lack of anti-money laundering rules, according to the authorities at the time.

The 42-year-old was finally extradited to France in January 2020 as a result of a protracted extradition dispute involving Russia, France, and the United States.

Vinnik refuted the accusations after being extradited to France and asked to be sent to Russia, where he is facing charges that are less serious and only involve roughly $11,000. A Paris-based judge rejected his motion and declared that he would be charged in France for using ransomware to defraud at least 100 people between 2016 and 2018.

Vinnik received a five-year prison term for money laundering from French authorities in December 2020.
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He was cleared of the initial charge that he had deceived people via ransomware, nevertheless.

Greece extradites Vinnik to the United States

The felon was returned to Greece on Thursday before being sent to the United States. He is now accused of 21 offenses, including running an unauthorized money service firm, conspiring to launder money, actually doing so, and engaging in illegal financial activities.

“After more than five years of litigation, Russian national Alexander Vinnik was extradited to the United States yesterday to be held accountable for operating BTC-e, a criminal cryptocurrency exchange, which laundered more than $4 billion of criminal proceeds,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

The case is still being looked into by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. Secret Service Criminal Investigative Division.

If convicted the BTC-e operator who laundered $4 billion could face up to 50 years in prison.

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