- WSJ's Gershkovich is being held on charges of espionage
- Vinnik was convicted of money laundering in France, then extradited to US
Alexander Vinnik, who is in a US prison for founding BTC-e, an illegal crypto exchange, has demanded a prisoner swap deal. The Russian wants to be traded for detained Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporter Evan Gershkovich, Cointelegraph wrote, citing a May 24 report from the WSJ.
Vinnik’s attorney is trying to amend a protective order on his client’s case, so that authorities can consider him as part of a prisoner swap between Russia and the United States.
Defense calls for public support
According to assistance defense attorney David Rizk, Vinnik should be allowed to respond to the charges, but negotiations on a prisoner swap would require high public awareness to “maximize the chances of such an exchange.”
Reporter was charged with spying in Russia
The renewed efforts for the swap follow US government calls to release Gershkovich, who will be detained in Russia until at least the end of August. He is being held on charges of espionage, making him the first US reporter detained on such accusations since the Cold War.
Vinnik’s attorneys started pushing for a prisoner trade last September, urging officials to consider exchanging him for one of the many Americans imprisoned in Russia.
Vinnik received BTC worth $4B+
Vinnik was convicted of money laundering and sentenced to five years in prison in 2020 in France. He served two years there, after which he was extradited to the US on a warrant.
According to the FBI, his illegal Bitcoin exchange company received bitcoins worth than $4 billion.
Vinnik founded BTC-e in 2011. In 2017, US authorities arrested several employees of the exchange on accusations of helping Russian criminals perpetrate identity theft, ransomware attacks, and narcotics trafficking.
Vinnik pleaded not guilty to the two dozen charges against him, claiming he had had no decision-making authority over daily operations at the exchange.
