Bitcoin News and Finance
France Rejects Russian Request to Extradite BTC-e Operator Alexander Vinnik Skip to main content

France Rejects Russian Request to Extradite BTC-e Operator Alexander Vinnik

France Rejects Russian Request to Extradite BTC-e Operator Alexander Vinnik

Judicial authorities in France have refused to grant the extradition request filed by Russia for Alexander Vinnik. According to the Russian Ombudsman, Vinnik is now ready to start a new hunger strike despite his health deteriorating after spending almost four years in detention.

Court Case Against Vinnik Continues in France

The operator of the infamous BTC-e crypto exchange was recently sentenced to five years in prison and fined €100,000. Quoted by RIA Novosti, Russia’s Commissioner for Human Rights Tatyana Moskalkova said that Moscow’s request to extradite Alexander Vinnik has not been granted on Thursday and that the consideration of the case continues.

In December 2020, the Paris Correctional Court found Vinnik guilty of money laundering but dropped extortion charges against him as well as those related to his alleged involvement with the Locky ransomware.

France Rejects Russian Request to Extradite BTC-e Operator Alexander Vinnik

Alexander Vinnik was arrested while on vacation with his family in Greece, in July 2017. He was detained on a warrant from the U.S. where he is accused of laundering up to $9 billion through the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e.

The Russian IT specialist spent 30 months in Greek custody without charges being filed, for which he went on a hunger strike that lasted almost three months. He is now ready to begin a new strike, Moskalkova revealed, quoted by TASS.

Alexander Vinnik’s Health Deteriorates

Referring to accounts from his defense and Russia’s consular service in France, the Ombudsman told Russian media that despite Vinnik’s “depressed health,” he is again ready to start protesting with a hunger strike. The human rights commissioner added that she was not aware of any suicide attempts by Vinnik but quoted his lawyer describing the prisoner’s psychological state as very poor. Moskalkova stated:

We hope that he will have the wits and courage to continue to fight for his rights in an active manner.

Tatyana Moskalkova also expressed regret that “the world which is calling for good, mercy, and justice, has heard neither the appeal of the Human Rights Commissioner of the Russian Federation, nor the calls from the Russian Foreign Ministry, the General Prosecutor’s Office, and other authorities.”

Vinnik’s case has become a source of international tension with Russia, France, and the United States simultaneously seeking his extradition. In December 2019, the Greek minister of justice Kostas Tsiaras decided to hand the Russian citizen over to France first, and then to the USA and Russia.

Alexander Vinnik faces criminal charges in his home country too. Russian prosecutors have accused him of stealing more than 600,000 rubles (over $8,000) and “fraud in the field of computer information” for an estimated 750 million rubles (around $10 million). During his detention in Greece, the Russian national declared he was ready to return to the Russian Federation and appear before a Russian court.

What are your thoughts on Alexander Vinnik’s case? Tell us in the comments section below.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Custodial Lightning Network Service Attack Discovered by LN ‘Newbie’ — Hacker Strikes 6 LN Custodians

On September 18, a Redditor posted to the r/bitcoin forum and explained how he discovered a way to “attack [the] lightning Network’s custodial services.” The Reddit account dubbed “Reckless Satoshi” wanted to figure out if a “discrepancy between real routing fees and service’s transaction fee can be exploited for a profit.” The researcher disclosed that he wanted to see how large the damage could be and said “it is bad.” 6 Lightning Network Custodial Services Attacked, Researcher Discloses Findings to Offenders Prior to Public Disclosure A Redditor called Reckless Satoshi published a disclosure post on r/bitcoin this past Saturday and disclosed how he had found a vulnerability with routing fees and some of the Lightning Network’s custodial services. The research attack was done in good faith and after it was complete he disclosed the bugs to the offending services before publishing his findings. Reckless Satoshi used the Lightning Network (LN) attack on six different services incl
Post a Comment
Read more

Axie Infinity Down 40% Since Last Week’s Price High, Protocol Revenue Outshines Competitors

Last week, the game token leveraged within the Axie Infinity gaming universe skyrocketed to all-time highs, while other crypto markets remained extremely lackluster. During the last seven days, Axie Infinity’s platform token has dropped significantly in value shedding more than 12%. Meanwhile, the game platform’s smooth love potion token has slid over 8% over the last 24 hours. Axie Infinity Down More Than 40% Since All-Time High Not too long ago, the axie infinity (AXS) token was a topical conversation because it reached an all-time high on July 15. At the time, AXS managed to capture $28.93 per unit and since then it has shed 12.8% during the last seven days. The axie infinity (AXS) token is used within the blockchain-based game that involves battles between token-based creatures called “Axies.” AXS is used for the game’s governance system as well as other actions within the game. At the time of writing axie infinity (AXS) is exchanging hands for $16.70 per coin. AXS/USD on Ju
Post a Comment
Read more

Play-to-Earn Game From Polker (PKR) Exchange Listing – Endorsed by Akon

The Play-to-Earn NFT based Polker.Game ‘s native token $PKR has been officially listed on the popular centralized exchange BitMart. Polker.game has been in the spotlight recently as Akon, the American R&B superstar and record producer gave his official endorsement of polker stating that the “game is revolutionary” and that Polker is “hands down.. the best play to earn, NFT game in the space.”. With the BitMart listing and celebrity endorsement from Akon, Polker is perfectly positioned to become a major player in the Play-to-Earn league. Watch Akon’s Video Here What is Play-to-Earn? Although not a new concept, play-to-earn has become a trending term due to the popularity of the NFT game AXIE infinity. In the past, previous play-to-earn games have also achieved success – however, thanks to the huge amount of development in the blockchain space in recent years the gaming experience is now massively improved. Play-to-Earn games are essentially free to play and open to anyone and
Post a Comment
Read more

China to Crack Down on Copyright Infringement Through NFTs

Authorities in China are going after creators of digital collectibles based on other people’s works of art, the use of which was not authorized. The government offensive is part of a campaign to combat online copyright infringement and piracy with the participation of several departments. Regulators in China Move to Strengthen Copyright Supervision of Online Platforms The National Copyright Administration of China (NCAC) has recently launched a campaign against copyright infringement and piracy on the internet, together with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, and the State Internet Information Office of the People’s Republic. A major objective of the initiative is to improve copyright supervision of online businesses by investigating cases involving the sale and distribution of infringing products on short video, live broadcast and e-commerce platforms, and promptly dealing with infringing content, the agency announced in a press r
Post a Comment
Read more
Blogarama - Blog Directory