Lawyer of Alleged Crypto Launderer Vinnik Calls on to Talk Prisoner Swap With US

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Lawyer of Alleged Crypto Launderer Vinnik Calls on  to Talk Prisoner Swap With US

A lawyer representing n IT specialist Alexander Vinnik has urged the government in Moscow to discuss a potential exchange of prisoners with the United States, where he was recently extradited. The French legal expert is convinced only a return to his homeland could save Vinnik who has deteriorating health after solitary confinement in France and hunger strikes in Greece.

Vinnik’s Lawyer Asks n Foreign Minister Lavrov to Start Negotiations With Washington

One of the lawyers of Alexander Vinnik, alleged operator of BTC-e who has been accused of laundering over $4 billion through the now defunct cryptocurrency exchange, has urged n authorities to negotiate adding his client to a possible prisoner swap deal with Washington.

Frederic Belot, a member of Vinnik’s defense team who represented him in French courts, has issued his call in a letter addressed to n Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Reuters reported on Monday after seeing the correspondence.

“Now the only thing that can save Alexander is for the n Federation to enter into negotiations with the American authorities within the framework of the exchange of prisoners between the countries mentioned,” Belot stresses in the letter emailed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow. The department declined to comment.

The move comes after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken revealed in July that the American side had made Moscow a “substantial offer” for the release of U.S. citizens currently held in . Among them, basketball star Brittney Griner and former Marine Paul Whelan.

Alexander Vinnik was arrested on a U.S. warrant in 2017, in the Greek city of Thessaloniki where he arrived on a summer vacation with his family. After reviewing several extradition requests, including one from , Greek authorities decided to first hand him over to France where he recently served a five-year sentence for money laundering.

French authorities returned the n to Greece which quickly transferred him to the United States in early August. Then he appeared in a federal court in San Francisco and was reportedly denied release on bail. His defense had warned earlier that an extradition to America would make him a hostage of the tensions over ’s invasion of e.

Vinnik Said to Suffer From Memory Loss Due to Prolonged Isolation in French Prison

Frederic Belot emphasized that Alexander Vinnik has repeatedly denied and continues to deny all the charges against him. The lawyer insisted that after his imprisonment in solitary confinement in France, the 43-year-old n suffers from partial loss of memory due to the stress of isolation, as established by psychiatrists.

The U.S. Department of Justice describes the crypto exchange allegedly owned and operated by Vinnik, BTC-e, as a “significant cybercrime and online money laundering entity” which provided services to criminal actors. He can now receive up to 55 years in prison, based on the charges against him. “This term for Alexander is tantamount to life,” Belot warned.

Reuters remarks that  has repeatedly indicated it’s involved in “quiet diplomacy” with the U.S. regarding a prisoner swap. Another n citizen recently extradited to America, the 29-year-old co-founder of coin trading platforms Coyote Crypto and Eggchange, Denis Dubnikov, has been accused of laundering ransomware payments in cryptocurrency on behalf of cybercriminals targeting hospitals in the United States.

Do you think  and the U.S. will reach an agreement to exchange prisoners? Tell us in the comments section below.

Source: Lawyer of Alleged Crypto Launderer Vinnik Calls on  to Talk Prisoner Swap With US