French authorities have accused the former operator of the currently closed crypto exchange BTC and Russian citizen Alexander Vinik.
French authorities have accused the former operator of the currently closed crypto exchange BTC and Russian citizen Alexander Vinik.
Bloomberg reported on January 28 that Vinik's lawyers said he would stay in France to face charges following his recent extradition from Greece. According to an unconfirmed official from the prosecution, Vinik is accused of extortion, money laundering, conspiracy, and causing damage to automatic data processing systems.
Legal shuttle
One of his lawyers said that after his trial in France is over, he expects the authorities to return him to Greece so that he can be extradited to the United States. After the end of the American persecution, he would finally be sent to Russia. A French investigation is ongoing and no trial has been ordered. Ariane Zimra, Vinik's French lawyer, said:
"There is no causal link between what Alexander Vinik and Alexander Vinik are accused of."
Vinik is currently in a French hospital after a 40-day hunger strike to protest his detention. Vinik's lawyers recently filed a complaint alleging that rights had been violated on behalf of his children.
Zoe Constantopoulou, one of his lawyers, suggested that he be persecuted because he is a blockchain genius and is seen as a threat to the banking system. She said
"Alexander's crime is to be a Russian and a person with extraordinary technological knowledge that could economically liberate people. [...] The Greek Minister of Justice has essentially decided that this person will spend his life by extradition, trial, and then re-extradition, re-evaluation, and again re-extradition and adjudication. "
A review of Vinik's case
Vinik is believed to have been involved in the Mt.Gox bitcoin stock market hack of 300,000 stolen BTCs, as he allegedly not only laundered through BTC but bitcoins were also in his personal wallet. Given this suspicion, the Mt.Gox commissioner contacted the US Department of Justice and requested information about him.
The United States first indicted Vinik in July 2017. A Greek court later ruled that he would be extradited to Russia in September 2018. However, in July 2018, local authorities decided to extradite him to France, where he is now.
The issue of Vinik's extradition is a big diplomatic action with several countries that are trying to extradite him. Russia, for example, has submitted several requests and asked for help from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in an attempt to put it under its jurisdiction.
