Ander Vinnik was released in a prisoner swap between the United States and Russia. In exchange, Russia received Mark Vogel.
Fogel, an American teacher who had been held in Russia on drug charges.
Vinnik ran the BTC-e exchange from 2011 to 2017 and was arrested in Greece in 2017 at the request of U.S. law enforcement.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, BTC-e processed more than $9 billion in transactions over a six-year period, many of which are suspected to be related to crimes such as ransomware attacks, drug trafficking and identity theft.
Authorities say BTC-e has a lack of anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) regulations, making it an attractive platform for cybercriminals.
In 2020, Vinnik was extradited to France and sentenced to five years on money laundering charges. He will then be transferred back to Greece and awaits an evacuation to the United States in 2022.
He was extradited to the US. In May 2024, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and faced up to 20 years in prison. US prosecutors said, "Vinick caused more than $120 million in damages.
He called BTC-e a "major cybercrime and online money laundering ring." Authorities have seized tens of millions of dollars in the exchange's assets and are investigating whether New Zealand
The US Treasury Department also fined BTC-e $120 million and Vinnik personally $12 million.
2025/02/18 11:25 KST
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