Russia’s most notorious cryptocurrency fraudster to be jailed for 10 years

Alexander Vinnik, a Russian man under arrest in the United States, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering for his role in running the BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange from 2011 to 2017. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the plea agreement provides for a «limited number of charges» that will allow Vinnik to avoid a life sentence.

Vinnik’s lawyer, Arkady Bukh, noted that due to negotiations with the prosecutor’s office, the term of imprisonment could be up to 10 years. Vynnyk pleaded guilty to a limited number of articles, and the defense intends to seek further reduction of the term, given that he has been in custody since 2017. The sentencing hearing will be held next week.

The US authorities suspect that Vynnyk collaborated with Russian intelligence. According to the investigation, the funds that passed through BTC-e could have financed Russian security forces. In this context, it is interesting that arms dealer Viktor Bout tried to lobby for V ynnyk’s release.

The BTC-e exchange operated from 2011 to 2017. Its activities were suspended immediately after Vynnyk’s arrest. Soon after, the crypto exchange was relaunched under the name Wex. It was taken over by a Singaporean company owned by another Russian, Dmitry Vasiliev. on May 30, 2022, he was arrested in Croatia on suspicion of fraud.

As a reminder, Vinnik was arrested in 2017 in Greece on charges of money laundering and running the BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange. In early 2020, the Russian was extradited from Greece to France, where he was sentenced to five years in prison. Later, Vinnik was sent back to Greece and extradited to the United States in early August. Vinnik is currently in a US prison, facing 55 years behind bars.