Share this article
French Officials Move to Start Trial of Alleged BTC-e Operator Alexander Vinnik
The alleged BTC-e operator stands accused of extortion, aggravated money laundering and conspiracy.
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 9:35 a.m. Published Jul 24, 2020, 1:45 p.m.
French officials have officially started the ball rolling for the trial of Alexander Vinnik, the alleged operator of an exchange said to have laundered millions of dollars for criminals.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
- French prosecutors filed a petition to start the lawsuit against Vinnik on Wednesday, according to a news report from L'Express.
- Vinnik was charged on the day he arrived in France in late January after been extradited from Greece.
- He stands accused of extortion, aggravated money laundering, conspiracy, and harming automatic data-processing systems as the chief of the exchange BTC-e, closed by law enforcement agencies in 2017.
- A hot wallet address for BTC-e can be seen on blockchain explorers.
- The platform from Netherlands-based Crystal Blockchain shows that, while now empty, more than 733,000 bitcoin (around $7 billion) has passed through the wallet.
- It has remained inactive since September 2017 – a few months after Vinnik was detained by the Greek authorities.
- Once the French trial has concluded, Vinnik will be extradited to the U.S. and then Russia to face similar charges there.
- Vinnik has maintained he is innocent of all charges.
See also: New Zealand Police Seize $90M Linked to Alleged BTC-e Exchange Operator
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Canadian Province Wins Forfeiture of $1M QuadrigaCX Co-Founder's Cash, Gold via Default Judgment
The ruling transfers cash, gold bars, watches, and jewelry seized from a CIBC safety deposit box and bank account into government hands after Patryn did not defend the case.
What to know:
- The Supreme Court of British Columbia has forfeited $1 million in cash and gold tied to QuadrigaCX's co-founder, Michael Patryn, to the government.
- Patryn did not contest the forfeiture, which involved 45 gold bars, luxury watches, and over $250,000 in cash seized under an Unexplained Wealth Order.
- The forfeiture may lead to a process determining if any assets can be directed to QuadrigaCX's creditors, who received 13 cents on the dollar in the bankruptcy settlement.
Top Stories
