Alexander Vinnik, former operator of now-defunct crypto exchange BTC-e will be extradited to France.
On Dec. 20 Russian Embassy in Greece tweeted the news:
2/3 Στο πρώτο στάδιο ο κ. Βίννικ θα εκδοθεί στη Γαλλία. Ενημερώσαμε τη Μόσχα για αυτό. pic.twitter.com/cuiEPc7MS0 — Rus Embassy, Greece (@RFEmbassyGr) December 20, 2019
Years of Disagreement On What Jurisdiction Should Care About The Alleged Bitcoin Laundering Suspect
Years of disagreement on what jurisdiction should care about the alleged Bitcoin laundering suspect, the Ministry of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights reportedly decided to finally extradite the Russian citizen to France.
<img width="710" height="458" src="https://www.cryptonewspoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/shutterstock_1041989599-1-710x458-1.jpg" alt="Alexander Vinnik" class="wp-image-7526 lazyload" />
The decision was delivered by the Minister for Justice Konstantinos Tsiaras.
1/3 Πληροφορηθήκαμε για το περιεχόμενο της απόφασης του Υπουργού Δικαιοσύνης της Ελλάδος που καθορίζει την προτεραιότητα εκτέλεσης των αποφάσεων των ελληνικών δικαστηρίων για την έκδοση του Ρώσου υπηκόου κ. Αλεξάντρ Βίννικ στη #Ρωσία, τη Γαλλία και τις ΗΠΑ. pic.twitter.com/cduQJh13K1 — Rus Embassy, Greece (@RFEmbassyGr) December 20, 2019
However, the Russian embassy expressed their regret that the Greek government “ignored” Russia’s request to extradite Vinnik to the country of his citizenship.
3/3 Λυπούμαστε για το γεγονός ότι το τεκμηριωμένο αίτημα της Γενικής Εισαγγελίας της #Ρωσία/ς για την ως προτεραιότητα έκδοση του Αλεξάντρ Βίννικ στη χώρα της υπηκοότητάς του αγνοήθηκε. pic.twitter.com/EQVemgIfzm — Rus Embassy, Greece (@RFEmbassyGr) December 20, 2019
Russia took multiple steps to bring Vinnik to its homeland since the alleged Bitcoin criminal was first arrested in Greece in July 2017. Alongside filing a number of requests with Greek judicial authorities, Russia also sought help from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to bring the alleged criminal under its jurisdiction.
Russia wasn’t the sole country that had been fighting for Vinnik as the United States have been seeking his extradition as well.
Known as “Mr. Bitcoin,” 39-year old Vinnik is allegedly the mastermind behind an international money-laundering scheme that had processed over $4 billion worth of capital flows.
Source: Cointelegraph