Trump released Russia's Crypto Brain: BTC-e's Black Box is Back! - Coin Bulletin

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The US released Alexander Vinnik, the former operator of the BTC-e exchange, as part of a prisoner swap with Russia, in exchange for facilitating the return of American teacher Marc Fogel to the country.

Vinnik was arrested in Greece in 2017 and extradited to the United States on charges of money laundering through the cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e. U.S. prosecutors alleged that he helped drug dealers, computer hackers, and other cyber criminals by using the exchange for illegal fund transfers. In 2024, Vinnik, who accepted the money laundering conspiracy charges, could have faced up to 20 years in prison. However, as a result of negotiations between Washington and Moscow, Vinnik was released and extradited to Russia.

BTC-e scandal: money laundering center?

BTC-e was a cryptocurrency exchange that operated between 2011 and 2017 and served more than 1 million customers. The platform reportedly had a trading volume of over 9 billion dollars, while U.S. officials alleged that BTC-e was used by criminal organizations for money laundering and illegal fund transfers. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the exchange was used to launder proceeds from illicitly obtained Bitcoin, causing a loss of 121 million dollars.

Vinnik's name has also come up in the prisoner swaps between the US and Russia in the past, but despite Kremlin's pressures, no progress could be made. However, the recent negotiations resulted in Vinnik's return to Russia.

Russia has been demanding Vinnik's extradition for a long time and wanted him to stand trial in Russia. According to experts, the Moscow government considers Vinnik's cryptocurrency information and connections to be important. Therefore, the Kremlin has made numerous attempts in the past to secure his release.

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