WSJ Writer Is Being Held, And The BTC-e Founder Wants A Prisoner Swap

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Alexander Vinnik, the BTC-e co-founder, of a purportedly illegal cryptocurrency exchange, is requesting freedom through a transaction often referred to as a “criminal exchange.”  The media reported on May 24 that Vinnik’s attorney is asking to change a preventative order on his case by which Vinnik may be included in a prisoner exchange agreement between the U.S. and Russia. He may then be “swapped” for Evan Gershkovich a WSJ reporter who is already in custody. David Rizk, an assistant federal prosecutor in the Northern District of California, wrote that Mr. Vinnik, BTC-e co-founder, needs to be allowed to address the allegations against him as well as advocate openly for a prisoner swap. 

What May Happen To BTC-e Co-Founder Alexander Vinnik

According to people knowledgeable about the procedure of prisoner switch, Rizk stated that to heighten the possibilities of exchange, such conversations necessitate a vigorous public campaign. The ongoing attempts for a prospective commercial agreement between Vinnik and Vinnik, the BTC-e co-founder, coincide with demands from the American authorities for the prompt release of Evan, whose prison time was recently extended to August 30. The first American journalist to be imprisoned on espionage allegations since Cold War was Gershkovich, who was taken by Russian officials around March for apparent espionage. Vinnik’s campaign for a criminal exchange began around September 2022 when his team initially urged officials to take into account exchanging him for the many Americans held in Russia.

On 9th December last year, the United States consented to the release of “merchant of death” and arms trader Viktor Bout from Russia in return for Brittney Griner, WNBA icon, who had been jailed in Russia for over nine years for trying to sneak cannabis oil inside the nation. When many staff members of the exchange were detained in 2017 July for allegedly aiding criminals from Russia in carrying out attacks using ransomware, identity theft plans, and drug trafficking, BTC-e, which was launched in 2011, was taken over by American authorities.