Today was the day O for Alexander Vinnik in Greece.
The only thing that can block the extradition of Alexander Vinnik to the US is a possible decision by Justice Minister Stavros Kontonis, after the Greek Supreme Court approved an American extradition request.
But keeping in mind the greek-american diplomatic relations nowadays it is 100% sure that such an option does not exist for the greek Justice Minister and specially not for the Russian Mr. Bitcoin.
Lets remember the story shortly: A US jury in July indicted Vinnik of laundering more than $4 billion dollars through his BTC-E bitcoin digital currency platform. The money allegedly derives from an array of illegal activity, including drug trafficking, and was laundered by Vinnik. Vinnik denies all charges, claiming he was merely a technician working on the bitcoin platform. Greece’s Areios Pagos, the Supreme Court, was called upon to decide the case on appeal, after a Thessaloniki Appellate Council on 29 September had approved the US extradition request. Vinnik was arrested this summer in Thessaloniki in a hotel with his family. His laptops and usb's are deported also to the american authorities for more investigations according to the court.
Remarkably is the fact that the Russian Consul in Thessaloniki was reportedly present in the courtroom for the appellate trial and this because Russia, after the US request, issued an extradition request for Vinnik also.
Moscow claimed that Vinnik had been involved in a 10,000 euro fraud case, in which he received the deposit for merchandise that was never delivered. Vinnik had agreed to be extradited to Russia in the beginning of the trial.
This information and the photo are fresh news from www.in.gr
This case will be a pilot for any similar legal question in the future for many EU countries.