The US has officially closed the case against Russian Alexander Vinnik, according to a court ruling available to Vedomosti.
“The case against defendant Alexander Vinnik is now closed and he has been released from custody,” reads the decision of the District Court of the Northern District of California of February 14, 2025.
Vinnik’s U.S. Lawyer Bukh Arkady Bukh told Vedomosti that all charges against his client have been dropped. The judge also granted the defense’s petition to lift the secrecy shield from Vinnik’s case file, and now all documents, including the order to dismiss the case and release the Russian, are public.
“As of today, Mr. Vinnik is considered to be a person with no criminal record, which is confirmed by court documents of the United States of America,” the lawyer said. He added that the dropping of all charges against Vinnik and his lack of a criminal record means that he will have no obstacles to obtaining visas and this opens the door for him to move freely around the world.
Russian Vinnik, the founder of the BTC-e crypto exchange, arrived in Russia on February 13. Washington the day before announced his release as part of an exchange with the Russian Federation. The Russian side in return handed over a former teacher of the Anglo-American school in Moscow, Mark Vogel, his arrival in the United States became known on February 11. Vogel was charged in Russia with drug transportation and smuggling after marijuana and hash oil were found in his luggage. In June 2022, the Khimki court in Moscow sentenced Vogel to 14 years in a strict regime penal colony.
Vinnik was arrested at the request of the United States while vacationing in Greece in 2017. He was accused of hacking the Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox and laundering between $4 billion and $9 billion through the BTC-e platform. The exchange’s servers and assets located in the United States were seized by the FBI. Charges against Vinnik were also brought in France and Russia. The verdict was to be handed down in June 2025, but the case was closed.
The last exchange between Russia and Western countries took place on August 1, 2024. 10 people were handed over to Russia, 13 people were sent to Germany and three to the United States. American journalist Evan Hershkovich, former Marine Paul Whelan and others were handed over to Washington.
Source: https://www.vedomosti.ru/politics/news/2025/02/15/1092377-v-ssha-zakrili