A Greek court decided Wednesday to allow a Russian man accused of masterminding a multi-billion fraud involving bitcoin to be extradited to the U.S.
Alexander Vinnik, the suspected money launderer, is wanted by the U.S. and Russia for various cyber crimes involving BTC-e, a digital currency exchange that used bitcoin. The Justice Department said he is wanted for operating an unlicensed money service business, money laundering, and other crimes.
The Justice Department in its July indictment said BTC-e, which Vinnik operated, was used to facilitate crimes ranging from hacking and identity theft to public corruption and drug trafficking. The exchange brought in more than $4 billion in bitcoin.
“Mr. Vinnik is alleged to have committed and facilitated a wide range of crimes that go far beyond the lack of regulation of the bitcoin exchange he operated. Through his actions, it is alleged that he stole identities, facilitated drug trafficking, and helped to launder criminal proceeds from syndicates around the world,” said Chief Don Fort, IRS Criminal Investigation, at the time of Vinnik’s indictment. “Exchanges like this are not only illegal, but they are a breeding ground for stolen identity refund fraud schemes and other types of tax fraud.”
Vinnik, who is one of seven Russians arrested or indicted this year on U.S. cybercrime charges, faces up to 55 years in prison. He appealed the Greek court’s decision and denies the charges, saying he was a technical consultant to BTC-e and not its operator, according to Reuters.
