Russian Crypto Kingpin Freed By US In Marc Fogel Swap
The exchange of Fogel was a “show of good faith” by Moscow ~Mike Waltz
(Tyler Durden Reports) – Alexander Vinnik, a 45-year old Russian man accused of running a money laundering operation using bitcoin, has been identified by The New York Times as the man released by the United States which enabled the return of American school teacher Marc Fogel, who had spent over three years in Russian prison.
“Vinnik operated BTC-e, once one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges. He was arrested in 2017 and detained at Washington’s request on suspicion of laundering $4 billion through the exchange,” Reuters has detailed.
Alexander Vinnik, center, NurPhoto via Getty Images
He faced 20 years in US federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering back in May. He was first arrested in Greece and 2017 and was subsequently extradited to the United States.
The 2024 San Francisco federal court case included 21 counts of money laundering. The Kremlin did not initially confirm the identity of the freed Russian who was part of the Fogel exchange.
Trump’s National Security Advisor Mike Waltz on Tuesday characterized the exchange of Fogel was a “show of good faith” by Moscow, and the deal is widely being seen as signaling positive momentum toward starting US-sponsored Ukraine peace talks.
According to a backgrounder on Vinnik:
Between 2011 and 2017, Vinnik, 44, from Russia’s Kurgan region, worked at BTC-e, a Russian cryptocurrency exchange which the U.S. Justice Department described as one of the main ways cyber criminals transferred, laundered, and stored the criminal proceeds of their illegal activities.
Russian state news agency RIA Novosti said he was arrested on July 25, 2017 at the request of the U.S. in front of his children, now aged 11 and 14 who have not seen him since, while vacationing on Greece’s Halkidiki peninsula.
In total he’s suspected of having laundered a whopping $4 billion in illicit funds through the Bitcoin exchange he operated. France had also been involved in the investigation and manhunt, and Russia too had requested his extradition.
The fact that Moscow would want him back enough to conduct a high level prisoner swap suggests his money laundering may have been done in connection with the Russian state actors, intelligence, or top officials.
Interestingly, his mother Vera Vinnick had told RIA last month that Trump is the president who could help get her son out of US custody. She explained of Trump, he “has a classic, normal family, he is adequate in this regard, he said that only two genders are recognized, male and female.”
President Trump endured harsh weather to welcome American Marc Fogel home as he arrived by plane in D.C. Tuesday…
WELCOME HOME, MARC FOGEL! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/MgLsdR8f2r
— Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) February 12, 2025
Marc Fogel of Pennsylvania had languished in Russian prison since he was detained in August 2021 at a Russian airport for Marijuana, which he said was for medical use.
Fogel’s family had long complained that his case was forgotten by the Biden administration who secured Griner’s release (in Dec. 2022) in exchange for arms trafficker Viktor Bout earlier in the war, a controversial trade to say the least.
The Biden administration had long come under fire for focusing on WNBC star Griner’s case, for reasons of “fame” and media focus, while Fogel and others in Russian prison were largely passed over for forgotten by the Democratic administration..
I say this without snark: I genuinely would like to understand why freeing Marc Fogel—whose story was almost identical to Brittney Griner’s, except that he was arrested 6 months *earlier*—did not appear to be a priority of the Biden administration. It’s not a good look. https://t.co/JUdsr2Oo5T
— Billy Binion (@billybinion) February 12, 2025
Vinnik’s release is certainly going to be less controversial, given his crimes are non-violent in nature, vs. Bout who was a notorious arms dealer supplying various sides of conflicts from Africa to Asia and throughout the globe.
_________
Header featured image (edited) credit: Org. post content. Emphasis added by (TLB)
••••
••••
Stay tuned tuned…
••••
The Liberty Beacon Project is now expanding at a near exponential rate, and for this we are grateful and excited! But we must also be practical. For 7 years we have not asked for any donations, and have built this project with our own funds as we grew. We are now experiencing ever increasing growing pains due to the large number of websites and projects we represent. So we have just installed donation buttons on our websites and ask that you consider this when you visit them. Nothing is too small. We thank you for all your support and your considerations … (TLB)
••••
Comment Policy: As a privately owned web site, we reserve the right to remove comments that contain spam, advertising, vulgarity, threats of violence, racism, or personal/abusive attacks on other users. This also applies to trolling, the use of more than one alias, or just intentional mischief. Enforcement of this policy is at the discretion of this websites administrators. Repeat offenders may be blocked or permanently banned without prior warning.
••••
Disclaimer: TLB websites contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of “fair use” in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, health, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than “fair use” you must request permission from the copyright owner.
••••
Disclaimer: The information and opinions shared are for informational purposes only including, but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material are not intended as medical advice or instruction. Nothing mentioned is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Leave a Reply