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Around 95 percent of all ransomware payments were laundered through Vinnik's BTC-e platform
The Supreme Court in Greece has ruled today that the owner of a shady Bitcoin exchange platform through which ransomware operators laundered cyber-crime money will be extradited to Russia, instead of the US or France, countries which also requested the hacker's extradition.
The suspect at the center of this tug-of-war is Alexander Vinnik, also known under the nickname of "Mr. Bitcoin," and the owner of the BTC-e.com cryptocurrency exchange.
US authorities shut down BTC-e in July 2017. Vinnik was arrested the same month by Greek police while vacationing in a seaside resort in the country's northern Halkidiki region.
The US requested Vinnik's extradition on a case involving 21 charges related to money laundering and the operation of an unlicensed money exchange. Vinnik faced a combined maximum sentence of up to 35 years in prison, along with various fines, in the US case alone.
As soon as Vinnik's arrest became public, Russia filed an extradition claim of their own. Russian authorities said Vinnik was also a suspected in an investigation in Russia in relation to a €9,500 ($11,000) fraud charge. Details about the case remained murky.
France filed its own extradition claim in June 2018, for involvement in "cybercrime, money laundering, and membership in a criminal organization and extortion."
Greek judges waivered in the case at every turn and with every appeal. They initially agreed to extradite Vinnik to the US, then to France over the summer, then to Russia at the start of September.
The case eventually reached Greece's Supreme Court, and today, it was decided that Vinnik should face charges in Russia, the suspect's native country, and where he expressed his desire to be trialed, mainly because of the thinner charges brought against him.
On the same day Greek authorities were arresting Vinnik, a team of researchers that also included Google staffers, presented findings at the Black Hat USA 2017 security conference, revealing that 95 percent of all ransomware ransom payments were cashed out and converted into fiat currency through Vinnik's BTC-e portal.
Also on the same day, a group of Bitcoin security specialists calling themselves WizSec published the results of an investigation that linked Vinnik's Bitcoin accounts to laundering funds stolen from the Mt. Gox exchange.
Researchers said that Vinnik was also involved in laundering funds stolen from other cryptocurrency exchanges, such as Bitcoinica, Bitfloor, and other platforms they did not name at the time.
US authorities said in an indictment that Vinnik's platform helped launder over $4 billion in illegal funds. BTC-e's website, before it went down, claimed to have handled over $7 billion during its lifetime.
Vinnik extradition to Russia is now in the hands of the Greek Justice Minister. The Minister can decline to sign, although, state officials rarely overrule justice systems on these decisions.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/us-loses-extradition-battle-with-russia-for-bitcoin-kingpin/
The Supreme Court in Greece has ruled today that the owner of a shady Bitcoin exchange platform through which ransomware operators laundered cyber-crime money will be extradited to Russia, instead of the US or France, countries which also requested the hacker's extradition.
The suspect at the center of this tug-of-war is Alexander Vinnik, also known under the nickname of "Mr. Bitcoin," and the owner of the BTC-e.com cryptocurrency exchange.
US authorities shut down BTC-e in July 2017. Vinnik was arrested the same month by Greek police while vacationing in a seaside resort in the country's northern Halkidiki region.
The US requested Vinnik's extradition on a case involving 21 charges related to money laundering and the operation of an unlicensed money exchange. Vinnik faced a combined maximum sentence of up to 35 years in prison, along with various fines, in the US case alone.
As soon as Vinnik's arrest became public, Russia filed an extradition claim of their own. Russian authorities said Vinnik was also a suspected in an investigation in Russia in relation to a €9,500 ($11,000) fraud charge. Details about the case remained murky.
France filed its own extradition claim in June 2018, for involvement in "cybercrime, money laundering, and membership in a criminal organization and extortion."
Greek judges waivered in the case at every turn and with every appeal. They initially agreed to extradite Vinnik to the US, then to France over the summer, then to Russia at the start of September.
The case eventually reached Greece's Supreme Court, and today, it was decided that Vinnik should face charges in Russia, the suspect's native country, and where he expressed his desire to be trialed, mainly because of the thinner charges brought against him.
On the same day Greek authorities were arresting Vinnik, a team of researchers that also included Google staffers, presented findings at the Black Hat USA 2017 security conference, revealing that 95 percent of all ransomware ransom payments were cashed out and converted into fiat currency through Vinnik's BTC-e portal.
Also on the same day, a group of Bitcoin security specialists calling themselves WizSec published the results of an investigation that linked Vinnik's Bitcoin accounts to laundering funds stolen from the Mt. Gox exchange.
Researchers said that Vinnik was also involved in laundering funds stolen from other cryptocurrency exchanges, such as Bitcoinica, Bitfloor, and other platforms they did not name at the time.
US authorities said in an indictment that Vinnik's platform helped launder over $4 billion in illegal funds. BTC-e's website, before it went down, claimed to have handled over $7 billion during its lifetime.
Vinnik extradition to Russia is now in the hands of the Greek Justice Minister. The Minister can decline to sign, although, state officials rarely overrule justice systems on these decisions.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/us-loses-extradition-battle-with-russia-for-bitcoin-kingpin/
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First update on BTC-E or Alexander Vinnik I've seen in awhile. Seems he will be extradited to russia to face charges although both the USA and france want him badly. Its still difficult for me to believe $7 billion were laundered through BTC-E. Both media and legal suits have a tendency to exaggerate the dollar amount of damage inflicted, the way people sometimes exaggerate things over the internet.
There are many allegations made in the crypto world lacking evidence. The story of tether being a criminal plot to artificially prop up the value of bitcoin for one. I hope someday we have a forthcoming body of evidence regarding the crimes Alexander Vinnik allegedly committed. $7 billion is a lot of money. If he laundered even a fraction of that it would be ranked as one of the biggest heists in history & should receive much more media exposure than it currently is.
I have a feeling this story is being ignored by the media and swept under a rug due to BTC-E and Vinnik's actual laundered amounts being far lower than $7 billion. Its like the tether story. They have little or no evidence to support their criminal claims and so they hope people will forget.
US authorities said in an indictment that Vinnik’s platform helped launder over $4 billion in illegal funds.
So it is not $4 billion, neither is it $7 billion, they are not sure which exact amount. And it also says that the platform claimed to have handled over $7 billion during its lifetime, but that doesn’t mean that’s the amount laundered. Whatever, I believe that people who commits crime should be brought to face judgment, so whatever they are passing through, they really deserve it.
