Alexander Vinnik, the co-founder of the crypto exchange BTC-e, which is believed to be involved in illegal activities, is currently seeking release through a prisoner swap deal. As per a recent report by the Wall Street Journal on May 24, Vinnik’s legal representative is attempting to modify a protective order that is in place in his case. The aim is to include him in a prisoner trade agreement between Russia and the United States, which might result in his release in exchange for detained WSJ journalist Evan Gershkovich.
David Rizk, who serves as an Assistant Federal Defender in the Northern District of California, has expressed that Alexander Vinnik should be granted permission to respond to the allegations made against him and to publicly advocate for his inclusion in a prisoner swap. Rizk has cited sources who are familiar with the process of negotiating prisoner swaps, stating that a robust public campaign is essential to maximize the likelihood of such an exchange.
The latest attempts to secure a potential trade deal for Vinnik have emerged as the U.S. government has been urging for the prompt release of Evan Gershkovich. The detention period of Gershkovich was recently extended until August 30, 2021, and this has led to renewed efforts to negotiate a prisoner swap deal. Gershkovich was apprehended by Russian authorities in March this year on charges of espionage. This marks the first instance of a U.S. correspondent being detained on spying allegations since the Cold War era.
The efforts to secure a prisoner swap deal for Vinnik began in September of the previous year when his legal team first started urging officials to explore the possibility of exchanging him for one of the many U.S. citizens who are currently held in detention in Russia. Subsequently, on December 9, 2022, an agreement was reached between the U.S. and Russia, which resulted in the release of Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who is also known as “The Merchant of Death.” In exchange, WNBA star Brittany Griner, who had been sentenced to over nine years in a Russian prison for attempting to smuggle cannabis oil into the country, was released.
Alexander Vinnik was initially apprehended on charges of money laundering in Greece in 2017, based on a warrant issued by the U.S. authorities. He was later extradited to France in 2020, where he was acquitted of ransomware allegations but found guilty of money laundering charges. Consequently, he was given a prison sentence of five years. After spending two years in a French prison, Vinnik was extradited to the United States on August 5, 2022.
BTC-e, a cryptocurrency exchange, was established in 2011 and was confiscated by U.S. authorities in July 2017. The seizure followed the apprehension of several members of the exchange’s staff who were accused of aiding Russian criminals in perpetrating ransomware attacks, identity theft schemes, and drug trafficking. Alexander Vinnik, one of the co-founders of BTC-e, pleaded not guilty to the 21 charges leveled against him. He argued that he had limited decision-making power in the exchange’s day-to-day operations.
