Bitcoin News and Finance
Lawyer of Alleged Crypto Launderer Vinnik Calls on Russia to Talk Prisoner Swap With US Skip to main content

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

Image
KEBB | Official ₿itcoin News
Lawyer of Alleged Crypto Launderer Vinnik Calls on Russia to Talk Prisoner Swap With US

A lawyer representing Russian 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 Russian 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 Russian 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 Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Reuters reported on Monday after seeing the correspondence.

“Now the only thing that can save Alexander is for the Russian 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 Russia. 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 Russia, 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 Russian 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 Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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 Russian 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 Russia has repeatedly indicated it’s involved in “quiet diplomacy” with the U.S. regarding a prisoner swap. Another Russian 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 Russia and the U.S. will reach an agreement to exchange prisoners? Tell us in the comments section below.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

Popular posts from this blog

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

KEBB | Official ₿itcoin News
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

KEBB | Official ₿itcoin News
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

KEBB | Official ₿itcoin News
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

KEBB | Official ₿itcoin News
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...
1 comment
Read more

Trezor and Wasabi to Implement a Coinjoin Mixing Scheme Into Hardware Wallets

KEBB | Official ₿itcoin News
This week, the hardware wallet manufacturer Trezor, and the non-custodial bitcoin wallet with a built-in Coinjoin mixer, Wasabi, revealed the two teams are working together to introduce Coinjoin mixing into hardware wallets. On Sunday, Wasabi tweeted “hardware wallet Coinjoins are coming next year with our friends at [Trezor].” Trezor Says Company Is ‘Working on a Coinjoin Implementation’ According to Trezor and Wasabi , a form of Coinjoin mixing is coming to hardware wallets in the near future. Coinjoin is a privacy-enhancing process that is leveraged to anonymize transfers on a blockchain. Basically, the scheme involves a number of parties transacting together and mixing their unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs) in a pool to obfuscate the origin of all the funds. On Sunday, Wasabi’s official Twitter account tweeted about adding the privacy-enhancing scheme to hardware wallets. In the thread, someone asked Wasabi when they would release an “album,” and Trezor replied : “Hi, we’...
Post a Comment
Read more

Grand Theft Auto 6 to Feature a Fictional Cryptocurrency

KEBB | Official ₿itcoin News
One of the biggest franchises in the videogame industry, Grand Theft Auto, will feature in-game payments of “bitcoin” or another fictional cryptocurrency. Contractors will pay the player with this currency when they need to make anonymous, untraceable payments. This would constitute another push for Bitcoin awareness into mainstream media culture. Grand Theft Auto 6 to Feature in-Game Fictional Cryptocurrency Grand Theft Auto 6, one of the biggest gaming franchises, will feature an in-game cryptocurrency for payments according to insiders. The game will allow the player to accept cryptocurrency payments from big shot contractors who want to remain anonymous. Industry insider Tom Henderson leaked the news on Twitter earlier this week. He stated: I heard recently that in GTA 6, some missions will reward you in bitcoin instead of cash for completing some missions. The stock market feature will return, with the addition of a broker for different cryptocurrencies. If GTA 6 incorporate...
Post a Comment
Read more

Grayscale Considering 25 More Crypto Assets for Investment Products

KEBB | Official ₿itcoin News
Grayscale, the world’s largest crypto asset manager, is considering 25 more crypto assets for investment products. With the latest additions, the company’s list of coins under consideration has grown to 43. “The process of creating an investment product similar to the ones we already offer is a complex, multifaceted process,” said Grayscale. 25 Crypto Assets Added to List of Coins Under Consideration for Grayscale’s Investment Products Grayscale Investments announced Monday that it has updated its list of digital assets under consideration for 2022. Grayscale currently has $30.6 billion in net assets under management. The company explained that the “Assets Under Consideration” list comprises “some digital assets that are not currently included in a Grayscale investment product, but that have come to our attention as part of our exploration of this sector, and that our team has identified as possible candidates for inclusion in a future investment product.” Grayscale detailed: Wit...
Post a Comment
Read more

Cardano’s Cfund First Capital Goes to Israeli Fintech Startup Coti

KEBB | Official ₿itcoin News
This latest move to broaden cooperation between Cardano and Coti builds upon previous collaborations as the former seeks to upgrade its payment solution on top of the former’s expanding financial infrastructure. Strategic Investment Marks First Allocation for New Ecosystem Venture Fund One of the earliest proposed use cases for blockchain was the democratization of financial services, namely by reaching unbanked and underbanked communities worldwide. From remittance payments, access to credit facilities, or even just digital wallet solutions, advancements across the blockchain landscape have finally made this vision a reality. Among them, Coti is developing the enterprise-grade base layer for the rest to build atop of. Coti, which is short for “currency of the internet,” operates a fintech platform that supports stakeholder-driven payment solutions and empowers these stakeholders to digitize any currency. This aim aligns with Cardano’s ambitions of affordably and instantaneously ...
3 comments
Read more
Blogarama - Blog Directory