INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Alexander Vinnik, a Russian citizen accused of supervising a cryptocurrency exchange that allegedly helped criminals launder billions of
dollars, has been extradited to the United States following a years-long extradition battle between Russia, the U.S
and France.He now faces up to 50 years in American prison.Vinnik was in December 2020 sentenced to five years in French prison for money
laundering, but was cleared of an original charge that he had defrauded nearly 200 individuals using ransomware through the cryptocurrency
expected to make an initial court appearance in the U.S
Northern District of California, according to CNN.A U.S
indictment accuses Vinnik of 21 charges ranging from identity theft and facilitating drug trafficking to money laundering and operating an
unlicensed money service in the U.S.U.S
investigators suspect Vinnik of being the mastermind of what they say has become one of the main ways cybercriminals launder their illegal
gains.He allegedly operated the BTC-e bitcoin exchange until his arrest in the northern Greek tourist resort of Halkidiki
Justice Department alleges that BTC-e had received more than $4 billion in bitcoins before it shut down in 2017.The U.S
Treasury Department had in 2017 evaluated a $12 million fine against Vinnik and a $110 million civil penalty against BTC-e for alleged money
laundering.Vinnik tried unsuccessfully to be extradited to Russia, where he is wanted on lesser fraud charges involving just 9,500 euros.
