French law enforcement agencies charged Alexander Vinnik on several counts, includingextortion and money laundering. The investigation is ongoing and a trial date has not yet been set.
According to a Bloomberg publication, Vinnik wasquestioned by French prosecutors immediately after his extradition from Greece late last week. Vinnik's Greek lawyer Zoe Konstantopoulou said at a press conference on Tuesday that Vinnik — a computer genius persecuted because of his Russian citizenship and the threat he poses to the international banking system.
“Alexander's crime is that he is Russian and a man with outstanding technological knowledge that can give people economic freedom,” — Konstantopoulou said.
France accused Vinnik of extortion,aggravated money laundering, conspiracy, and damage to automatic data processing systems, a prosecutor spokesman told Bloomberg.
Vinnik was arrested in July 2017 on charges of money laundering, computer hacking, fraud and drug trafficking with his former employer, the bitcoin exchange BTC-e.
Last November, Vinnik went on a hunger strike ina sign of protest against “inhumane treatment”, and in December he was visited in hospital by the Russian ambassador due to the detainee’s deteriorating health. In addition, last month Vinnik’s defense filed a complaint with the UN Human Rights Committee regarding Vinnik’s illegal detention in Greece, since an appeal to the head of the Greek branch of the human rights organization Amnesty International was ignored.
The investigation is ongoing and the trial date is not yetassigned. At the conclusion of the trial in France, as Vinnik’s lawyers said, he will be extradited back to Greece and then to the United States, where he will be charged with similar charges. After this case is completed, he will be sent to Russia, where he will also be charged.
“The Greek Minister of Justice, in fact, decided that thisa person must spend his life being extradited, convicted, extradited again, convicted again, and then everything must happen again,” — Konstantopoulou said.
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