[2023-06-09] Russian Nationals Charged With Hacking One Cryptocurrency Exchange

[zasad@]

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/russian-nationals-charged-hacking-one-cryptocurrency-exchange-and-illicitly-operating-another

"The Justice Department unsealed charges related to the 2011 hack of the cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox and the operation of the illicit cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e.

According to court documents, Alexey Bilyuchenko, 43, and Aleksandr Verner, 29, both Russian nationals, are charged with conspiring to launder approximately 647,000 bitcoins from their hack of Mt. Gox. Bilyuchenko is also charged with conspiring with Alexander Vinnik to operate BTC-e from 2011 to 2017."


https://bits.media/v-ssha-obvinili-dvukh-grazhdan-rossii-v-krazhe-bolee-600000-bitkoinov-s-kriptobirzhi-mt-gox/
"Recall that Ivanov, who was arrested in Novosibirsk, claims that the Russian Alexander Vinnik, who is now in an American prison, was behind the creation of BTC-e. According to Ivanov (who worked as a BTC-e technical administrator), Vinnik was responsible for the financial component of the criminal crypto exchange.

Alexander Vinnik was detained in July 2017 in Greece at the request of the US authorities. According to the US Department of Justice, Vinnik laundered billions of dollars for criminals through the BTC-e crypto exchange. After serving time in prisons in Greece and France, Vinnik was eventually extradited to the United States. On the charges, he can receive up to 50 years in prison. He does not admit his guilt. At the end of May, the media learned about the appeal of Vinnik's lawyers to exchange him for US citizens arrested in the Russian Federation. However, the exchange is unlikely, since the US Department of Justice is against his extradition to the Russian Federation."

[paid2]

At the end of May, the media learned about the appeal of Vinnik's lawyers to exchange him for US citizens arrested in the Russian Federation. However, the exchange is unlikely, since the US Department of Justice is against his extradition to the Russian Federation."

I find it astonishing that he made such a request. Do we know what his sentence would be if he were sent in Russia?

I imagined that it would have been worse than in the United States, but it's true that 50 years is really violent. I wonder what he would risk, which kind of condemnation, if he pleaded guilty in the US?

[NeuroticFish]

Do we know what his sentence would be if he were sent in Russia?

In Russia he may have a new trial and his chances are from completely dropped charges (for example to spit in US "general direction") to even going to fight in the war.
But no, it's just a lawyer gimmick. I tend to believe that the lawyers knew that DOJ will refuse that before even asking.

[Kakmakr]

I am actually amazed that the Russian judicial services are not pushing harder for the extradition, just to stick it to the US.   This will only become a political ball game between Russia and the USA.

I wonder how many Russians lost money in that hack and if he would got a bigger sentence, if he was trialed in Russia? There are many Russian hackers that are being used by the government to infiltrate systems in western countries, so they might even recruit him for that.