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Alexander Vinnik, the alleged owner and operator of the notorious BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange, has been found ineligible for bail in the United States, where he was recently transferred from Greece. The Russian, accused of large-scale money laundering through the now-defunct trading platform and other crimes, denies US charges.
US authorities have effectively denied bail to IT specialist Alexander Vinnik, Russian media reported, citing his record on the website of the Santa Rita prison in California where he is incarcerated. Vinnik has been in the United States since his hasty extradition from Greece a little more than a week ago, angering his international defense team.
The crypto entrepreneur was arrested on a US warrant in the summer of 2017, in the Greek city of Thessaloniki where he arrived on a family vacation. Greece first sent him to France in late 2019, where he served a five-year sentence for money laundering. In July, US authorities withdrew a request to get him from France, speeding up his transfer through Greece, which had already approved his extradition to the US.
His lawyers protested the decision to quickly hand him over to US authorities, pointing out that he had applied for asylum in Greece after previously warning that Vinnik in the US was likely to become a “hostage” to the geopolitical clash surrounding the ongoing military conflict. in NATO-backed Ukraine, which was invaded by Russian forces in February.
The information provided by the jail’s online inmate locator does not indicate whether the bail decision was made at the hearing on Friday, May 5. August when Vinnik appeared in a federal court in San Francisco, or whether the judge has not yet considered the case. A status check returns the short message “Unable to release on bail (NO BAIL).”
During the first hearing, Alexander Vinnik declared his innocence and pleaded not guilty, according to a report by the Tass news agency, citing a court spokesperson. The next hearing is scheduled for August 15.
According to the indictment, cited by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) in last week’s announcement of his extradition, BTC-e processed transactions from a wide range of crimes, such as the Mt Gox hack, ransom fraud and drug trafficking. The Russian is now facing several cases of money laundering for more than 4 billion dollars, among other things.
In another report this week, Tass revealed that the Russian Federation embassy in Washington was still seeking contact with Vinnik by phone. Nadezhda Shumova, who heads the mission’s consular department, has been quoted as saying that Russian diplomats intend to provide all necessary consular and legal assistance to their compatriot.
Both Greece and France have ignored extradition requests filed by Russia, accusing him of embezzling more than 600,000 rubles (less than $10,000 at current exchange rates) and “fraud in computer information” for 750 million rubles ($12 million). Vinnik himself has previously expressed his willingness to return to his home country and face justice there. However, that seems unlikely. One allegation not mentioned by the DOJ is that he cooperated with Russian intelligence.
Do you think Alexander Vinnik will be convicted of money laundering in the USA? Share your expectations for the trial in the comments section below.
Image credit: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Russian Embassy in Greece
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