- Alexander Vinnik has had NZ$140 million (US$90 million) held in his offshore accounts confiscated by New Zealand police.
- Vinnik is accused of laundering hundreds of millions of dollars through the BTC-e Bitcoin exchange
- Vinnik faces trial in France, with extradition to US also hanging over him
Alexander Vinnik, the man considered by many to be the recipient of the stolen Mt. Gox funds, has had NZ$140 million (US$90 million) confiscated by New Zealand police. The seizure, described as the largest in New Zealand police history, involved funds belonging to a New Zealand registered company that had already been frozen as part of the investigation into Vinnik’s operations. This investigation saw him at the center of an extradition tug of war between Russia, France, and the US that France won in January.
Arrested on Holiday
Alexander Vinnik was the founder of BTC-e exchange which is suspected of laundering a large amount of the Mt Gox Bitcoin stolen in 2014, as well as millions of dollar’s worth of cryptocurrency from various illegal operations around the world. Vinnik was indicted by American authorities for his crimes and was arrested while on holiday in Greece in 2017.
Following his arrest, Russian, French, and the American authorities all vied for his extradition, with Vinnik eventually being sent to France in January to face interrogation. Despite losing out in the battle US authorities have clearly pursued the case regardless, with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster confirming that the order had come from the US:
New Zealand Police has worked closely with the Internal Revenue Service of the United States to address this very serious offending. These funds are likely to reflect the profit gained from the victimisation of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of people globally as a result of cyber-crime and organised crime.
Alexander Vinnik Faces 55 Years in Prison
The money itself was not held in New Zealand but was instead held in offshore bank accounts under the name of a New Zealand company in Vinnik’s name, but New Zealand authorities managed to recover a large percentage and seize it. No date has yet been set for Alexander Vinnik’s trial, with the US waiting in the wings to swoop following its conclusion, but he could face 55 years in prison in France if found guilty.
