Russian Alexander Vinik, also known as “Mr. Bitcoin”, accused by the US of laundering $4 billion, is pushing to be included in a prisoner exchange program between the two countries. Such a scenario would possibly lead to his release. Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gerskovich.

Vinick’s offer is similar to that of Viktor Butt, a convicted Russian arms dealer who was eventually released in exchange for sportswoman Brittney Greiner. A lawyer for Vinick, the co-founder of the popular bitcoin exchange, laid out his client’s intentions in a California federal court over the weekend.

Vinick was arrested six years ago in Greece while visiting Halkidiki.. According to the US extradition request, Vinik allegedly operated the BTC-e digital currency exchange platform and is accused by the US of laundering $4 billion. He denies being the operator or founder of the exchange in question. TRussia is also seeking his extradition for crimes related to cyberspace.. Vinick never pleaded guilty to the charges, but agreed to be extradited to his homeland, where he said he would face a fair trial.

In an attempt to avoid extradition to the US, Vinick submitted two asylum applications in Greece, the first in September 2019 and the second in July 2022, which were never processed.

Evan Gerskovich was arrested in Russia on espionage charges that neither the Wall Street Journal nor the US government recognize. Another U.S. detainee who could be part of the exchange is Paul Whelan, a security officer and former U.S. Marine who has been in custody since late 2018. He was convicted of espionage in 2020 in a closed trial that the US rejected as a pretext.

Observers consider one-on-one exchanges with Russia the most likely way for Americans to return home, and this assessment is confirmed by the case of basketball star Britney Grainer, who was detained for almost 10 months on drug possession charges.

“The US has previously shown up ready to trade Vinick for Greiner. They contacted the Russian side to find out if Mr. Vinik really wanted to be sold (which he did). They offered to exchange him for Mrs. Greiner, but the process did not go,” the defender said.

In April, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters at the UN: “There are about 60 Russians in prison in the United States. In most cases, the accusations are dubious.”

The US has said it is open to deals with other countries holding Russian citizens for espionage, but a multilateral deal could prove extremely difficult to reach.

According to the Wall Street Journal