Washington to release Russian citizen Alexander Vinnik in exchange for Mark Fogel

The United States will release Russian national Alexander Vinnik in exchange for Mark Fogel, whom President Putin pardoned earlier, ABC News reports, citing a US official.

Vinnik's sentencing in California was initially scheduled for June, but a federal judge unexpectedly moved the hearing to Tuesday. The Russian citizen was being held at the Alameda County Jail in California.

The New York Post said citing a source within the US administration that US President Donald Trump approved Vinnik's release.

Background on Alexander Vinnik

• Arrested in Greece on July 25, 2017, at the request of the US.
• Accused of operating the BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange and allegedly laundering $4 billion through the platform.
• In May 2024, Vinnik pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.

The Exchange

Earlier, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that US citizen Mark Fogel, who was convicted in Russia for drug smuggling, was exchanged for a Russian citizen imprisoned in the U. S. Fogel is set to return home in the coming days, at which point the name of the released Russian citizen will be publicly disclosed.

Details

Alexander Vinnik is a Russian computer expert. From 2011 to 2017, he worked at BTC-e, a Russian cryptocurrency exchange. On July 25, 2017, Vinnik was arrested in Ouranoupoli, Greece at the request of the U.S. on suspicion of laundering $4 billion through the digital currency Bitcoin (BTC-e). At the time, Vinnik denied the charges. In late July 2017, the U.S. requested Vinnik's extradition from Greece. In early October 2017, his extradition was requested by the Prosecutor General of Russia.