russian bitcoin expert is charged with money laundering
French officials have filed preliminary charges of money laundering and extortion against russian bitcoin fraud suspect Alexander Vinnik, who’s tangled in a multi-country legal battle, writes AP.
The United States also wants to prosecute Vinnik, accusing him of laundering billions of dollars through BTC-e, one of the world’s largest digital currency exchanges. His native russia also wants to put him on trial.
Vinnik, 39, was arrested in the summer of 2017 while on a family holiday in northern Greece, at the request of U.S. authorities. Vinnik says he acted as a technical consultant to the BTC-e platform and had no knowledge of any illegal activity.
After a two-year legal tug-of-war, Vinnik was extradited from Greece to France on Thursday and was immediately questioned by investigating judges, according to a French judicial official.