Greece extradited a Russian computer scientist and cryptographer to the United States hours after he was extradited to Greece from France. That’s what his lawyer says. Alexandre Vinnik was convicted in France for money laundering.
Alexander Vinnik was arrested in Greece in 2017, after which he was extradited to France and sentenced to 5 years in prison in 2020 for money laundering. On Thursday, the 43-year-old Russian was handed over to Greek authorities, who immediately flew him on a plane to the United States, his lawyer Zoe Konstantopoulou says. The United States could have put a lot of pressure on Greece for this.
Vinnik is accused in the US of operating BTC-e, an illegal cryptocurrency exchange. More than $4 billion (€3.9 billion) in criminal money has been laundered on that platform, according to the US attorney general. If convicted on all 21 counts, the Russian could face 55 years in prison.
The Russian Foreign Ministry responded with “extreme outrage” over the “unfriendly actions of the Greek authorities”. Russian diplomats will do everything in their power to protect their legitimate rights and interests.
Russia is also demanding Vinnik’s extradition. There is accused of fraud for a much smaller amount.
