French prosecutor demanded to sentence Vinnik to 10 years in prison

The Russian is accused of money laundering and extortion. US authorities consider him involved in the theftcryptocurrencies in the amount of $ 4 billion to $ 9 billion.

The prosecutor demanded to sentence the RussianAlexander Vinnik to 10 years in prison and asked to appoint a fine of 750 thousand euros. This was reported by a RIA Novosti correspondent who was present at the court hearing in France.

Vinnik was arrested in July 2017 in Greece forthe request of the US Department of Justice. He was accused of involvement in the theft from the Japanese stock exchange Mt. Gox cryptocurrency worth between $ 4 billion and $ 9 billion and laundering it through the BTC-e platform, presumably created by him. In January 2020, the Russian was extradited to Paris.

In France, Vinnik was accused of extortion andmoney laundering. The prosecutor claims that the defendant created and distributed the Locky malware, which fell victim to about 200 individuals and companies in 2016-2018. According to the investigation, Vinnik was the "conductor of the orchestra", gave orders and acted more than one.

Vinnik's lawyer Frederic Belo denies thatthe defendant is the organizer of the money laundering scheme. Also, the defense side assures that the Russian does not own the Locky virus, which was used to steal personal data, reports TASS.

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