The lawyer for the alleged BTC-e exchange operator, Alexander Vinnik, claims that the Greek supreme court has decided to extradite him back to his motherland. If true, this would be a significant blow to US authorities’ attempts to get their hands on Vinnik and extract information from him about Russian hackers.
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BTC-e Operator Sent Back to Russia?
American authorities accuse Vinnik of running a $4 billion money laundering operation as the head of BTC-e, as well as masterminding multiple crimes since 2011, including drug trafficking and computer hacking. Russia objects to Vinnik’s extradition to the US on the grounds that it violates international law, and demands he be sent back to face charges there for supposedly stealing 600,000 rubles (about $10,500).
An International Power Struggle
As we reported yesterday , a new explanation has recently popped up as to why the US and Russia are each fighting so hard to ensure that Vinnik will be handed them and not the other. Crypto cybersecurity firm Elliptic claims that BTC-e handled some funds linked to ‘Fancy Bear’ – a Russian military intelligence unit that US investigators accuse of hacking Democrats’ emails ahead of the 2016 presidential elections. With much of the American media and political establishment in panic about “Russian meddling” ever since the election of Donald Trump, it is no doubt they will make it a priority to be able to interrogate anyone suspected to have any collaborating information.
Should Vinnik be extradited to Russia or the US? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
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