The Paris court has ruled that Alexander Vinnik was the leader of the illegal Russian crypto-exchange BTC-e, which laundered about $4 billion
Russian IT specialist Alexander Vinnik was sentenced yesterday by a Paris court to five years in prison, according to a Novaïa Gazeta correspondent reporting from the courtroom. He was found guilty of aggravated money laundering and fined €100,000 ($121,000). The court also ordered the confiscation of valuable items for his role in the illegal Russian cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e, which prosecutors say laundered approximately $4 billion.
Vinnik, 41, first made headlines in July 2017 when he was arrested in Greece on a U.S. warrant. Shortly after the United States began extradition proceedings, Russia also filed an extradition request based on an allegation involving non-delivery of equipment to the company Vosstroykomlit. The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office later stated that Vinnik had contacted Russian authorities and confessed to money laundering and hacking activities in March and April 2018.
In July 2018, the Paris prosecutor charged Vinnik with extortion, money laundering and computer fraud, and French authorities issued a European arrest warrant. A Greek court chose to extradite Vinnik to France earlier this year, and his trial began in September.
The Paris prosecutor had initially sought a 10-year sentence and a €750,000 ($910,000) fine, but most of the original 14 charges against Vinnik were dropped, with only one remaining, according to Vinnik’s defense lawyer, Frédéric Bélot.
One of the dropped accusations involved Vinnik’s alleged participation in the Locky cyber-attacks. Locky is malware that, when delivered by email, encrypts a computer’s files and demands a ransom in Bitcoin. French investigators said the virus affected around 200 people and businesses in France, but Vinnik denied any involvement during the trial.
Vinnik also denied being the leader of the BTC-e exchange, insisting he was only a technical consultant, reportedly earning a monthly salary of €10,000 ($12,000). The exchange suspended operations after Vinnik’s arrest and U.S.-based servers associated with the site were seized by the FBI.
The defense has 10 days to appeal the verdict; Bélot said an appeal is “very likely.” Vinnik is currently held at La Santé prison in Paris where, due to coronavirus-related restrictions, he is in isolation and allowed visits only from his lawyers and an Orthodox priest.
Translated by Carolane de Palmas