Today was the day O for Alexander Vinnik in Greece.
The only thing that can block the extradition of Alexander Vinnik to the US is a possible decision by Justice Minister Stavros Kontonis, after the Greek Supreme Court approved an American extradition request.
But keeping in mind the greek-american diplomatic relations nowadays it is 100% sure that such an option does not exist for the greek Justice Minister and specially not for the Russian Mr. Bitcoin.
Lets remember the story shortly: A US jury in July indicted Vinnik of laundering more than $4 billion dollars through his BTC-E bitcoin digital currency platform. The money allegedly derives from an array of illegal activity, including drug trafficking, and was laundered by Vinnik. Vinnik denies all charges, claiming he was merely a technician working on the bitcoin platform. Greece’s Areios Pagos, the Supreme Court, was called upon to decide the case on appeal, after a Thessaloniki Appellate Council on 29 September had approved the US extradition request. Vinnik was arrested this summer in Thessaloniki in a hotel with his family. His laptops and usb's are deported also to the american authorities for more investigations according to the court.
Remarkably is the fact that the Russian Consul in Thessaloniki was reportedly present in the courtroom for the appellate trial and this because Russia, after the US request, issued an extradition request for Vinnik also.
Moscow claimed that Vinnik had been involved in a 10,000 euro fraud case, in which he received the deposit for merchandise that was never delivered. Vinnik had agreed to be extradited to Russia in the beginning of the trial.
This information and the photo are fresh news from www.in.gr
This case will be a pilot for any similar legal question in the future for many EU countries.
Excellent article, thank you so very much for sharing and I would LOVE to read the in-depths arguments relating to this whole trial. Again, great work, this is history you are sharing with us and it is empowering us all.
Namaste :)
Very good to know. Funny how the charge in Russia is just 10k euros . It would be funny if he can give it back in BTC, LOL
The Russian embassy in Greece will do what is necessary to defend the legitimate rights of Russian citizen Alexander Vinik, the Russian diplomatic mission in Athens told the agency Ria Novosti after the decision of the Supreme Court to issue Vinik on USA.
In particular, the statement of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Athens reads as follows: "The Embassy and the Russian Foreign Ministry have done and will do what is necessary to defend the legitimate rights of the Russian citizen."
Thanks for relaying this information. With so many navigating through unchartered waters it is helpful to know!
Meanwhile, the defense attorneys of Alexander Vinik intend to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, asking for it not to be issued.
The lawyer, through his statements to the Russian news agency, hopes that Greek Justice Minister Stavros Kontonis will take these facts into account when making his final decision, including the filing of the officer of the Greek Police and former head of the Electronic Crime Prosecutor's Office, Mr. Manolis Sfakianakis, who did not find any evidence of a criminal offense.
Thank you for sharing this information. I had heard a little about it but don't know very much. Upvoted supporting you!
Thank you @terrybrock the case has many episodes yet...
@vpbokos
wow good post
bitcoin can also be bane in pakistan and india soon