Greece has extradited a Russian national to the United States where he is wanted for allegedly being involved in a massive bitcoin theft scheme.
Aleksandr Vinnik, known as Mr. Bitcoin, was arrested on a U.S. warrant in 2017 on a Greek beach where he was vacationing with his family, but eventually was extradited to France where he also faced charges.
The 43-year-old was sentenced to five years on money-laundering charges. He was released on August 4 but immediately sent back to Greece, which had requested his return so it could execute the original U.S. warrant for allegedly operating a digital-currency website that was used by cybercriminals worldwide to launder money. Russia had also sought Vinnik on lesser, unrelated criminal charges.
According to the relatives and Vinnik's French lawyer, he is currently being held in San Francisco, California, and may face up to 50 years in prison if convicted in the United States.
The timing of Vinnik's transfer to the United States, which coincided with a Moscow court sentencing U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner to nine years in prison on drugs smuggling charges, has given rise to speculation Vinnik may be used in a possible prisoner swap.
Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed by phone a proposal that Blinken said involved Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who is serving a 16-year prison term in Russia on espionage charges that he and his supporters reject.
He did not say who Russia would receive, but media reports said the swap would likely include Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who is being held in the United States.
Lavrov and Blinken said on August 5 that they were now ready to further discuss a prisoner exchange.
The United States accused Vinnik of operating BTC-e, one of the most popular websites for buying and selling bitcoin.
Vinnik has claimed he is innocent of the charges but also admitted he was involved in hacking and money laundering in Russia and would cooperate with Moscow on his extradition to Russia.
Vinnik was one of seven Russians detained or indicted worldwide in 2018 on U.S. cybercrime charges.