Jailed Russian IT specialist and operator of the defunct crypto exchange BTC-e, Alexander Vinnik, is set to return to Russia as part of a prisoner exchange that has seen school teacher and former diplomat Marc Fogel fly back to the U.S. At the time of writing, U.S. media reports indicated that officials were in the process of repatriating the freed Russian.
Vinnik, 44, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder $4 billion via BTC-e, reportedly faced the prospect of 20 years in prison. He entered his plea in May 2024, six years after his arrest in Greece at the behest of the United States. According to U.S. officials, Vinnik’s crypto exchange had become the go-to platform for cybercriminals and drug traffickers.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who stood with Fogel shortly after his arrival, characterized the former diplomat’s release as another testament to his administration fulfilling campaign promises. Trump also sought to frame the release as a step that builds trust between Washington and Moscow.
“We were treated very nicely by Russia. Actually, I hope that’s the beginning of a relationship where we can end that war and millions of people can stop being killed,” the U.S. President said.
However, according to a BBC report, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has cautioned against linking the prisoner swap to the war in Ukraine. The spokesman for the Russian leader, Dmitry Peskov, concurred that the agreement may help build trust but insisted it was not a “turning point.”
The release of the Russian IT specialist comes nearly two years after his U.S. lawyer, David Rizk, suggested that Vinnik could be a candidate for a prisoner swap between the United States and Russia. However, according to a Telegraph report, Vinnik’s crimes were less severe than those committed by some prisoners freed by the Biden administration.
Meanwhile, the Russian lawyer representing Fogel claimed that the Biden administration’s reluctance to declare the former diplomat a wrongfully detained person frustrated previous attempts to secure his release. However, with just under a month into his second term as president, Trump has secured Fogel’s release from a Russian prison.
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