Vinnik to face the U.S. authorities

The Council of Judges in Greece has declared that the U.S. request about Alexander Vinnik’s extradition must be granted.

Alexander Vinnik, according to many American governmental bodies, including the U.S. Department of Justice, the Internal Revenue Service, the FBI and even Secret Service, was closely connected to the former BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange that went offline simultaneously with his arrest and later resurfaced as WEX. As for his crimes, he is accused of money laundering of 4 billion U.S. dollars in total.

According to the Russian RIA Novosti, the judge also ordered to transfer all confiscated property of Alexander Vinnik to the United States.

“The Defence can appeal the decision in 24 hours”, the judge stated.

Vinnik reassured the court he does not have any connection with BTC-e, sticking to the line of defense he chose since his arrest.

“I have no connection to the BTC-e website. I am neither an owner, nor manager or accountant. I am a technical expert – an independent technical expert. This is one of my clients,” claimed Vinnik at the beginning of the hearing.

The defendants already promise they will appeal this decision in the Areopagus, where the Supreme Court of Greece is located. According to the lawyers (one of them, as some reports suggested, is connected to Natalya Kasperskaya), no proofs of Vinnik’s crimes have ever emerged during the hearings.

It’s safe to assume there’s no conspiracy of the U.S. law enforcement to frame Vinnik, as too many serious, respected governmental bodies and persons confirm the accusations. Alexander Vinnik can face 55 years in prison and he will have to pay a multimillion fee.