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The US authorities have refused to grant bail for IT specialist Alexander Vinnik. The Russian media cited his record on the website of the Santa Rita Jail in California (where Vinnik is imprisoned). More than a week ago, Vinnik was shifted to the U.S from Greece, which his international defense team didn’t like.
Vinnilk was on a family vacation in the Greek city of Thessaloniki when he was arrested by the authorities. In late 2019, Greece sent him to France where he was incarcerated for five years over the money laundering allegations. Then in July, the U.S authorities took their request to send him to France, back. As a consequence, it made his transfer through Greece rapid. His lawyers protested the decision to transfer him to the U.S authorities as he requested to seek asylum in Greece. Since in the U.S he is likely to become ‘hostage’ because of the ongoing situation in Ukraine.
The next Hearing is Schedule for August 15
As per a report by the Tass news agency, Alexander Vinnik was not found guilty during the first hearing. August 15 is the scheduled date for the next hearing.
The indictment quoting the U.S Department of Justice stated that last week, during the announcement of Vinnik’s extradition, BTC-e processed transactions from various crimes like the drug trade, ransomware scams, and Mt Gox hack. Among other charges, the Russians are also alleged of money laundering for over $4 billion.
The Embassy of the Russian Federation in Washington is still looking to get on a call with Vinnik, disclosed Tass in another report this week. The head of the mission’s Consular Department, Nadezhda Shumova has said that the Russian diplomats plan to offer the required consular and legal assistance to their compatriots.
Russia had alleged Vinnik of theft of more than 600,000 rubles and “fraud in the field of computer information” for 750 million rubles ($12 million). Both Greece and France didn’t pay any heed to these extradition requests filed by Russia. Vinnik too wants to fight for justice there. It however doesn’t seem to be happening. One accusation that was not stated by the DOJ is that he has partnered with Russian Intelligence.
Nancy J. Allen is a crypto enthusiast, with a major in macroeconomics and minor in business statistics. She believes that cryptocurrencies inspire people to be their own banks, and step aside from traditional monetary exchange systems. She is also intrigued by blockchain technology and its functioning. She frequently researches, and posts content on the top altcoins, their theoretical working principles and technical price predictions.
