- A multi-person prisoner swap between the US and Russia has grabbed headlines in the last 24 hours, but Alexander Vinnik was not one of the names involved
- MtGox launderer Vinnik has consistently applied to be part of potential prison swaps but has been rebuffed for the second time
- Vinnik is awaiting sentencing in the US for laundering $4 billion having pleaded guilty in May
A multi-person prisoner swap between the US and Russia has grabbed headlines in the last 24 hours, but one man who will be looking on with more envy than others is BTC-e co-founder Alexander Vinnik. Vinnik, who is currently awaiting sentencing in the US after pleading guilty to laundering around $4 billion in stolen funds through the defunct crypto exchange, has consistently applied to be part of any potential prison swaps, but this rebuff marks the second time that Vinnik’s name has not been among those considered. Instead, Vinnik must now await his sentencing next year and a potential spell in jail.
Russia-US Tug of War
Vinnik became infamous for his involvement with BTC-e, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, and the laundering of bitcoins earned by illicit actors, including hundreds of thousands of bitcoins stolen from MtGox between 2011 and 2014. BTC-e was founded in 2011 and operated until it was shut down in 2017 by law enforcement, the same day that Vinnik was arrested in Greece.
Vinnik was charged with operating an unlicensed money service business, money laundering, and related crimes, with US authorities claiming that BTC-e laundered funds for various criminal enterprises, including drug trafficking and ransomware schemes. His arrest triggered a complex legal battle over his extradition, initially involving the US and Russia, with Vinnik’s involvement in US election meddling also playing a huge part in its interest.
France Wins the Fight (for the US)
Russia initially fought to bring Vinnik home, inventing trumped-up charges to try and equal the US allegations, with different Greek courts giving conflicting rulings and Vinnik eventually going on hunger strike to try and force through a move to Russia.
In January 2020, Greece decided to extradite Vinnik to France, where he faced additional charges including extortion, aggravated money laundering, conspiracy, and harming automatic data-processing systems, with France’s EU membership helping to cut away the red tape being faced by Russia and the US.
In France, Vinnik was convicted in December 2020 on charges of money laundering and sentenced to five years in prison and fined 100,000 euros. However, the court dismissed the more serious charges of cybercrime and extortion, and, after serving just one of the five years to which he was sentenced, Vinnik was returned to Greece where the US scooped him up and took him over the Atlantic, where he faced 21 counts of money laundering and other charges related to his activities with BTC-e.
Vinnik Not Involved in Prisoner Swap
Vinnik’s legal teams have tried on multiple occasions to involve him in prisoner swaps, initially trying to include him in the Viktor Bout–Brittney Griner swap, but this never got off the ground. Yesterday’s US-Russia prisoner swap saw 24 people repatriated in total, but Vinnik’s name was not among the eight Russians returned to their home country, despite his lawyers trying for over a year to make him one of the party.
It seems, therefore, that Russia isn’t as keen on Vinnik’s return as it once was and, with him now having pleaded guilty, it doesn’t see him as a particularly strong bargaining chip. Having changed from a not guilty to a guilty plea in May, Vinnik is set to be sentenced next year. He may be back home sooner than he thinks, however, with US officials stating only that “A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.” This suggests that Vinnik’s time served may be enough and he may be going home to Mother Russia soon after all, just a little later than he would have liked.
