Alexander Vinnik | Breaking Cybersecurity News | The Hacker News

Greece just took another U-turn. Mr. Bitcoin a.k.a. Alexander Vinnik is not going to France nor to the United States; instead, he is now possibly going to his homeland Russia. The Supreme Civil and Criminal Court of Greece on Friday has overruled previous decisions and approved to extradite the alleged owner of the now-defunct Bitcoin cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e Vinnik to Russia. Several Greek courts have previously ruled in favor of all three countries, Russia, France, and the United States, where Vinnik is wanted to face different criminal and hacking charges. Vinnik, 38, has been accused of operating BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange, which was shut down right after his arrest by Greek police in July 2017 at the request of the U.S., where he is convicted for fraud and money laundering more than $4 billion worth amount of Bitcoin (BTC) for criminals involved in hacking attacks, tax fraud, and drug trafficking. Vinnik is also accused to the failure of the once-most famous...

In a legal extradition tug-of-war between the United States and Russia, it seems France has won the game, surprisingly. A Greek court has ruled to extradite the Russian cybercrime suspect and the former operator of now-defunct BTC-e crypto exchange to France, instead of the United States or to his native Russia, according to multiple Russian news outlets. Alexander Vinnik , 38, has been accused of laundering more than $4 billion in bitcoin for criminals involved in hacking attacks, tax fraud and drug trafficking with the help of BTC-e crypto exchange. BTC-e, a digital currency exchange service operating since 2011, was seized by the authorities right after Vinnik's arrest in northern Greece in late July 2016 at the request of US law enforcement authorities. Vinnik is also accused to the failure of the once-most famous Japanese bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox , which was shut down in 2014 following a series of mysterious robberies, which totaled at least $375 million in Bitcoin...