Fun

French Lawyer Asks Russian Patriarch to Help Save Alexander Vinnik From ‘Political Trial’ in US

News Feed - 2022-10-31 01:10:15

French Lawyer Asks Russian Patriarch to Help Save Alexander Vinnik From ‘Political Trial’ in US


A member of the defense team of the alleged BTC-e operator Alexander Vinnik has called on the head of the Russian Orthodox Church to intervene in support of his client. The Russian national may be sentenced to over 50 years in prison for his role in the infamous cryptocurrency exchange. Prisoner Swap for Americans in Russian Custody Is Vinnik’s Only Chance to Return Home, Lawyer Says


Frederic Belot, the French lawyer who has been representing Russian crypto entrepreneur and alleged money launderer Alexander Vinnik in courts for years, has written to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia with a request to help for his client’s return to the homeland.


“The Vinnik case for the United States is not a legal, but a political trial,” the attorney said in the letter, quoted by the Russian Tass news agency. In the U.S., he may face imprisonment for more than 50 years, Belot warned and emphasized: Now the only thing that can save Alexander is his exchange, among other Russians, for American citizens imprisoned in Russia.


Belot referred to the cases of Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan. This is not the first time he is suggesting this solution. In early September, the lawyer urged Moscow to include Vinnik in talks over a potential prisoner swap with Washington, highlighting Vinnik’s poor health after spending time in solitary confinement in France and a hunger strike in Greece.


In his address to Kirill, Frederic Belot pointed out that Vinnik is a “deeply believing Orthodox Christian” and added that “believing that the truth will prevail in the end helped him endure loneliness, separation from his family, the death of his wife, and the monstrous injustice on the part of the authorities of several countries.”


The French defense lawyer also turned attention to the violations of Vinnik’s rights after his detention in Greece and extradition to France, and then to the United States. The Russian was arrested while on vacation in Thessaloniki in July 2017 on a warrant issued by the U.S., where he is accused of laundering between $4 and $9 billion through the now-defunct BTC-e.


In December 2019, Greek authorities handed him over to France where a year later he was sentenced to five years in prison for money laundering. In early August, after serving his French sentence, Vinnik was returned to Greece which immediately transferred him to the U.S.


Throughout these years, Russia has also sought his extradition on charges of embezzlement and “fraud in the field of computer information” for a total of over $12 million but Moscow’s requests were not granted. Vinnik himself, who is suspected of having collaborated with Russian intelligence, has previously stated his will to appear before a Russian court. Tags in this story Alexander Vinnik, BTC-e, Case, crypto exchange, Exchange, extradition, Kirill, Money Laundering, Moscow, Orthodox, Patriarch, prison, prisoner, prisoners, Russia, russian, sentence, swap, U.S., United States, US, vinnik, Washington


Do you expect Alexander Vinnik to be exchanged as part of a prisoner swap deal between Russia and the United States? Share your thoughts on the case in the comments section below. Lubomir Tassev


Lubomir Tassev is a journalist from tech-savvy Eastern Europe who likes Hitchens’s quote: “Being a writer is what I am, rather than what I do.” Besides crypto, blockchain and fintech, international politics and economics are two other sources of inspiration. Stablecoin HUSD Continues to Trade Below $1 Parity as Token Taps an All-Time Low at $0.72 NEWS | 14 hours ago A Committee of Celsius Creditors Objects to Celsius Selling Its Stablecoin Cache NEWS | 2 days ago


Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons Previous articleEconomists Discuss Russia, China Potentially Developing Gold-Backed Currency That Could Undermine US Dollar Next articleArgentine Tax Authority AFIP Notified 4,000 Crypto Holders to Ammend Their Tax Statements Show comments More Popular NewsIn Case You Missed ItRipple CEO: SEC Lawsuit Over XRP "Has Gone Exceedingly Well"


The CEO of Ripple Labs says that the lawsuit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against him and his company over XRP "has gone exceedingly well." He stressed: "This case is important, not just for Ripple, it’s ... read more.Today"s Top Ethereum and Bitcoin Mining Devices Continue to Rake in Profits UAE Airliner Emirates to Launch NFTs and Experiences in the Metaverse Iran to Increase Penalties for Unauthorized Cryptocurrency Mining Terra"s Algorithmic Dollar-Pegged Crypto UST Is Now the Third-Largest Stablecoin

News Feed

Bitcoin ATM network shrinks by 334 machines in 40 days
Arijit Sarkar13 hours agoBitcoin ATM network shrinks by 334 machines in 40 daysGlobal Bitcoin ATM network shrinks by 334 machines in under 40 days, with the US and Europe seeing the most significant reductions.3589 Total
HSBC’s CEO Explains Why Crypto Is Not in the Banking Giant’s Future
HSBC"s CEO Explains Why Crypto Is Not in the Banking Giant"s Future Banking giant HSBC will not be offering crypto services, according to CEO Noel Quinn. Noting that HSBC is more n
ECB President Lagarde Warns of ‘Major Disaster’ If US Defaults on Debt Obligations
ECB President Lagarde Warns of ‘Major Disaster’ If US Defaults on Debt Obligations There is a lot of discussion lately about the U.S. government’s debt ceiling and whethe
Martin Young3 hours agoAptos resumes operations after 5-hour outage that ‘impacted’ transactionsAptos suffered a five-hour outage, coincidentally in the same week the network launched in 2022.862 Total views11 Total
Tristan Greene3 hours agoOpenAI and Microsoft accused of stealing data to train ChatGPT in new class-action suitThe lawsuit alleges that OpenAI’s profits came as a result of using illegally scraped data to train its mo
Binance and Crypto.com Publish Proof-of-Reserve Audits Conducted by Global Auditor Mazars Group
Binance and Crypto.com Publish Proof-of-Reserve Audits Conducted by Global Auditor Mazars Group This week two cryptocurrency exchanges provided proof-of-reserves in order to highli
Michael Terpin Urges FCC to Curb Crypto Fraud That Cost Him $24 Million
Crypto investor Michael Terpin has written an open letter to Federal Communication Commission (FCC) chairman Ajit Pai requesting urgent action on SIM swapping fraud. Terpin, a victi
What are Bitcoin whales and how to spot them?
Tobias Vilkenson12 hours agoWhat are Bitcoin whales and how to spot them?Follow Bitcoin whales’ trails: track their tactics, from manipulation to stop-loss hunting and explore their market impact for navigating crypto
Morpho secures $50M funding led by Ribbit Capital for onchain lending
Ana Paula Pereira7 hours agoMorpho secures $50M funding led by Ribbit Capital for onchain lendingMorpho Labs has raised $50 million from over 40 investors, including Ribbit Capital, which also invests in Revolut, NuBank,
Bitcoin, Ethereum Technical Analysis: ETH Back Above $2,100, as BTC Rebounds From 1-Week Low
Bitcoin, Ethereum Technical Analysis: ETH Back Above $2,100, as BTC Rebounds From 1-Week Low Ethereum moved back above $2,100 on Tuesday, as markets reacted to the latest gross dom
Nike Acquires NFT Startup RTFKT Studios in Order to ‘Deliver Next-Generation Collectibles’
Nike Acquires NFT Startup RTFKT Studios in Order to "Deliver Next-Generation Collectibles" Nike, the American multinational footwear and sports apparel company has announced the ac
Shiba Inu Falls Below $0.00002631 As Bears Dominate The Market, Time To Buy?
Este artículo también está disponible en español. Shiba Inu (SHIB) has seen intense bearish pressure as its price slips below the critical $0.00002631 level. This downwar