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Greek court satisfies US extradition request for Russian citizen

Russian citizen Alexander Vinnik was detained in Greece at the request of US authorities on July 25

ATHENS, October 4. /TASS/. A court in the Greek city of Saloniki satisfied a US extradition request for Russian citizen Alexander Vinnik at its hearing on Wednesday, the Athens News Agency said.

The court also ruled to hand over to Washington a lap top, a tablet computer and mobile phones seized from Vinnik during his detention. The Russian’s lawyers plan to appeal the ruling.

Vinnik was detained in Greece at the request of US authorities on July 25. The jury in San Francisco, California, brought charges against the Russian into money laundering and fraud with cryptocurrency.

Russia’s Prosecutor-General’s Office requested Vinnik’s extradition to Russia. In his home country, a criminal investigation into large-scale fraud has been initiated.

According to US justice, the Russian launched a digital platform for illegal exchange operations with cryptocurrency for money laundering schemes. Vinnik used the BTC platform to steal personal data and allegedly helped to launder revenues from various criminal organizations around the world, including those from drug trafficking.

Washington claims that Vinnik laundered funds arising from a hacker attack against Japan’s Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange, which has stopped operations. The Russian faces up to 20 years behind bars.

Russia’s prosecutors say Vinnik used fraudulent schemes in the Internet and stole more than 600,000 rubles ($10,400) from an organization. On August 10, the Russian was put on a wanted list. The next day, Moscow’s Ostankinsky court arrested him in absentia.

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