- The lawyer of a Russian man, who was accused of laundering, urged Moscow on Monday.
- He urges a prisoner swap discussion with Russia.
Alexander Vinnik, the Russian man who last month was accused of money laundering charges to the U.S. called by Sergey Lavrov to initiate swap negotiations with Washington. Sergey Lavrov, is the Foreign Affairs Minister of Russia.
Belot’s Letter
Frederic Belot, the lawyer of Alexander Vinnik mentioned in the letter, that “Now the only thing that can save Alexander is for the Russian Federation to enter into negotiations with the American authorities within the framework of the exchange of prisoners between the countries mentioned.”
He also said that when he emailed the letter to the Russian Foreign Ministry, it declined with immediate comment.
ALSO READ – Loopring Price Analysis: When will LRC Recover Itself above the Rising Wedge?
Although, it must be noted that Vinnik got arrested on the request of the U.S. in 2017 in Greece. And, Moscow continuously asks for his return to Russia. When he was extradited to France from Greece, he was sentenced to five years in prison for money laundering before he returned to Greece. He then sent to the U.S. early in the previous month.
The lawyer stated that his client was held in solitary confinement in France. In the letter, the stress of isolation psychiatrists have stated that “he has a partial loss of memory.” And also, his client continuously denied all the allegations against him.
Over the allegations on Vinnik, the U.S. The Department of Justice explained that “Vinnik allegedly owned, operated, and administered BTC-e, a significant cybercrime and online money laundering entity that allowed its users to trade in bitcoin with high levels of anonymity and developed a customer base heavily reliant on criminal activity.” The U.S. charged a maximum penalty of 55 years in prison against Vinnik. On the other hand, Belot stated “This term for Alexander is tantamount to life.”
Source: https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2022/09/12/lawyer-of-accused-crypto-launderer-urges-russia-for-a-discussion/