Russian Officials Withdraw Accusations Against Vinnik
Freed From U.S. Clutches, Alexander Vinnik Returns to Russia
Say goodbye to the hunt for Alexander Vinnik, Russia! The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) officially dropped the investigation against him, TASS reported.
Seems like the MVD found nothing incriminating against Vinnik, as his name was erased from their database. You could say they decided to let the cat (or in this case, Vinnik) out of the bag.
Back in 2017, Moscow investigators were after Vinnik, accused of swindling over 600,000 rubles from an unknown organization. They claimed he promised them goods that never arrived. The Ostankinsky Court played its part by issuing an arrest warrant for him in absentia.
In a twist of events, Vinnik found himself in a U.S. prison, awaiting sentencing for laundering a whopping $4 billion through BTC-e. But in 2025, he was part of a prisoner exchange deal, swapped for American teacher Marc Fogel, imprisoned in Russia.
Ever since his summer arrest in Greece in 2017, Vinnik's had quite the adventure. He was extradited to France in 2020, where he served five years and paid a fine of €100,000. The charges of extortion and creating the Locky ransomware were dropped.
His journey took a turn in August 2022, when he landed in the U.S. Facing up to 55 years behind bars, he pleaded guilty to money laundering charges in May 2024 and owned up to losses amounting to at least $121 million.
Things have changed since then. Vinnik is back in Russia, his homeland. He's out of the U.S. prison system and back in the Motherland, thanks to that neat little prisoner exchange deal.
So, the Russian MVD has moved on, and so has Vinnik. But remember, this is just one chapter in the life of a man involved in the world of cryptocurrency and cybercrime. It's important to learn from the past and prepare for the future, as the world of digital finance continues to evolve at a rapid pace.
The news of Alexander Vinnik's return to Russia marks a significant development in the ongoing narrative of general-news, politics, and crime-and-justice. Despite his past accusations of cybercrime, it appears that the Russian authorities have dismissed the investigation against him, paving a path for Vinnik to navigate through the dynamics of the country's politics and justice system once more.
