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Greece Approves BTC-e Admin Alexander Vinnik’s Extradition to Russia

Last Updated March 4, 2021 3:37 PM
Sujha Sundararajan
Last Updated March 4, 2021 3:37 PM

Alleged bitcoin money launderer Alexander Vinnik has reportedly told the judges of the Supreme Court of Greece that he wanted to be extradited to Russia.

The Russian national who was arrested in Greece last year, accused of laundering billions of dollars in bitcoin through BTC-e, has rejected the charges imposed on him by US and France.

According to a Russian media TASS , the Supreme Court of Greece has accepted the extradition of Vinnik to Russia. The approval came after Vinnik tole the court hearing that he wanted to be extradited to Russia.

Vinnik’s Defense Attorney Ilias Spirliadis told the media,

“The court’s ruling will be officially made public on September 14. However, as follows from what the judge said at the session, the decision on Vinnik’s extradition to Russia has been made.”

Reportedly, at present, there are four court rulings on Vinnik including extradition to France, U.S. and two decisions on his extradition to Russia.

Vinnik was accused by the US prosecutors of helping illegal money transactions using bitcoin, including transfers linked to a Russian military intelligence hacking unit called Fancy Bear. Earlier in May, there was also a plot to murder the accused, but the Greek police decided not to make it public to assist investigators.

Vinnik told TASS that he does not recognize these “fake charges” against him. He added,

“Russia will sort everything out to determine whether or not I am guilty, while France and the US will not be able to do so, as there is no justice there.”

Also, talking about the prison conditions, Vinnik told that he does not have any problems, nor complaints about his health.

In July, the Greek court approved Vinnik’s extradition to France in order to face charges for extortion, money laundering and having a membership in a criminal organization. According to the French police, Vinnik has laundered 133 million euros worth $155 million using 20,643 bitcoins.

Featured image from Shutterstock.