On May 18, the Paris court will begin considering an appeal in the case of Russian Alexander Vinnik, accused of laundering $ 4 billion to $ 9 billion through the BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange and sentenced to five years in prison.
Recall that Vinnik was arrested in Greece in July 2017. He is accused of money laundering and participation in the development of Locky software for carrying out hacker attacks with the aim of extortion. The US prosecutor’s office claims that Vinnik is the co-founder of the BTC-e exchange, which was closed at the same time as his arrest. The defendant denies all charges and claims that he worked with BTC-e only as a client and consultant.
In January 2020, Vinnik was forcibly taken from a Greek hospital and extradited to France, despite his grave health condition. Last December, the court dropped some of the charges against Vinnik, sentencing him to five years in prison and a € 100,000 fine.
Vinnik’s defense appealed against the verdict of the Paris court. The date for consideration of the appeal is set for May 18, and the hearing will last until June 8. Vinnik’s French lawyer, Frederic Belo, demanded that several more IT specialists be involved in the process. They will study the materials provided by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). These are copies of your Mac Pro’s hard drive and data from your mobile phone. Vinnik is considered the owner of these items, and without a thorough examination.
Belo said that the experts involved in the investigation conducted an “expedited” investigation due to lack of time and money. According to him, the investigation and defense did not have access to the original data. Naturally, this state of affairs does not suit Vinnik’s defense, therefore, during the next hearings, his lawyers intend to present the results of their own expertise.
“When I was arrested almost four years ago, it turned my whole life upside down. And for you this is just another criminal case, ”Vinnik said in his address to the judge.
The prosecutor’s office also filed a cross-appeal against the court’s verdict, including the points on which Vinnik was cleared of charges. Instead of five years in prison, the prosecutor demands that Vinnik be sentenced to 10 years.
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