According to the news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP), a Paris judge has ordered the Russian national to stand trial for extortion, money laundering, criminal association, and fraudulently accessing and modifying data in data processing systems. According to the report, French authorities have accused Vinnik of defrauding more than 100 people out of $160 million between 2016 and 2018. Vinnik was arrested in Greece in 2017 at the request of the US authorities and then was later extradited to France.
Alexander Vinnik is accused of laundering $3.4 billion in bitcoins.
The Russian resident Alexander Vinnik, also known as “Mr. Bitcoin,” is accused of laundering 300,000 Bitcoin that is roughly $3.4 billion at press time over the course of six years through the now-defunct crypto exchange BTC-e. Vinnik was arrested during a vacation to Greece in 2017 on an indictment from the United States and subsequently extradited to France in January. The bitcoin launder accused is awaiting trial for several months in France as he was extradited to the European country earlier this year.
The accused bitcoin launderer accused is also wanted in the USA and Russia.
The bitcoin launderer accused Alexander Vinnik previously requested his extradition to his home country, where he would reportedly face lesser charges involving defrauding victims out of $11,000. Russian officials fought hard to get Vinnik back to his home country, but the Greek Court extradited him to France to face many severe charges. After his trial in France concludes, Vinnik could be returned to Greece to face extradition to the United States, where authorities reportedly want to question him regarding his connection to the infamous hack of Mt. Gox. Some of the Bitcoin from BTC-e may have come from the now-defunct Japanese crypto exchange.
