Alleged BTC-e Co-owner Transferred to Prison in Athens
According to Alexander Vinnik’s lawyer Timofei Musatov, Mr. Vinnik has been transferred from Saloniki to Athens due to the forthcoming court session in Greece’s court of justice scheduled on November 15th.
The day before, the lawyer has visited the defendant, RIA Novosti reported.
“I went to the prison together with a consulate employee. We asked the prison’s director to ensure decent accommodation for my client. According to the director, the prison is full, and it won’t be an easy thing to do. Right now we’re trying to make sure the rights of the defendant are observed,” Mr. Musatov stated.
Mr. Vinnik was detained in Greece on July 25th at the request of the U.S. He was charged on 21 counts, including laundering of $4 billion and creation of cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e to run illegal operations.
The exchange has rebutted any connection to Mr. Vinnik, though he admitted that he “was performing his duties” there.
Russia also presses fraud charges against Mr. Vinnik. Earlier he agreed to extradition to Russia.
In October, the court of Saloniki has issued two contradictory rulings, one of which orders Mr. Vinnik to be extradited to the United States, while the other one to Russia. In the U.S., Mr. Vinnik faces 55 years of imprisonment and a multimillion fine.
The final decision is to be made by Greece’s minister of justice.
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