Alexander Vinnick has been jailed for five years in a French court case after being convicted of money laundering.
A Russian man described as a “pirate of international stature” has been jailed for five years in France after being convicted of money laundering.
Alexander Vinnik had been accused of being the mastermind behind BTC-e — and in 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice claimed “he stole identities, facilitating drug trafficking, and helped to launder criminal proceeds from syndicates around the world.”
He was extradited to France to stand trial after a prolonged legal battle earlier this year, but has long maintained that he was merely an employee of BTC-e and not associated with the owners.
France had accused Vinnik of being associated with the spread of ransomware known as Locky, which had affected about 200 people within the country.
Prosecutors had been seeking a 10-year prison sentence during the trial in Paris — but according to local media, he was given a lesser term after being acquitted of 13 of the 14 offenses he was accused of. A judge concluded that he was not responsible for the cyberattacks, but had played a role in laundering the proceeds.
Vinnik was also ordered to pay a fine of €100,000 — and this too was substantially less than the €750,000 requested by prosecutors.
The 41-year-old’s lawyer has suggested that they plan to appeal the verdict.
Read More on Academy!
Now’s a good time to brush up on the nine things you should know before investing in cryptocurrency. Don’t forget that we’ve got dozens of in-depth articles on the latest crypto trends on CoinMarketCap Academy.
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Get the headlines in your box every day with the CoinMarketCap newsletter. It’s completely free, and you can subscribe here.
