ALEXANDER VINNIK appeared to be like any other Russian man – until he was arrested and accused of running a complex crypto criminal enterprise.
He’s been accused of laundering $4billion in crypto and of being responsible for the biggest Bitcoin hack of all time.
So what is the story behind notorious crypto criminal Alexander Vinnik? Was the Russian national behind Mt Gox hack and what is his net worth?
Who is Alexander Vinnik?
A Russian national and one of the world’s most notorious crypto criminal masterminds, for years Alexander Vinnik got away with laundering money.
Vinnik was alleged to have directed and supervised the operations of the BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange from 2011 until his arrest in 2017.
The Russian exchange was known for its minimalist design, and secretive nature, making it the obvious platform of choice for illicit activity.
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In 2016 it is thought as much as 70 per cent go all criminal cryptocurrency transactions took place on BTC-e. Among high-profile cases, it is thought the exchange was used by the Russian cyber espionage group Fancy Bear to hack the US Democratic party’s computers.
Vinnik has also been accused of being responsible for hacking the Mt Gox exchange in 2014. At the time the Japanese-based platform was the largest Bitcoin exchange in the world, accounting for over 70 per cent of all transactions.
The exchange collapsed abruptly when hundreds of thousands of bitcoins, then worth hundreds of millions in US dollars, were stolen.
For years it was unclear who was behind the mass hacking, but the US Department of Justice claimed in 2017 that it had evidence Vinnik was behind the attack.
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It alleged funds stolen from Mt Gox were deposited at BTC-e, traded to another exchange, and then traded back to Mt Gox under another account.
However, the DoJ claimed that the BTC-e deposits were made to accounts which only BTC-e administrators would have had access to.
It added that the deposits were then eventually cashed out to bank accounts controlled by Vinnik.
Three years after the Mt Gox hack, and six years after BTC-e was set up, the Russian national was arrested while on a family holiday in Greece.
While enjoying a day at the beach, Greek police arrested Vinnik at the request of US authorities on suspicion of laundering $4billion through BTC-e.
After being detained, multiple countries demanded he be extradited: the US put forward a request for him to stand trial for money laundering, France put in a request over alleged fraud, and Russia made its own claim for offences in his home country.
Few believe Russia truly intended to put Vinnik on trial and instead believe their request was an attempt to bring him home in order to stop him from linking the Kremlin to his illegal activities.
In January 2020 he was extradited to France where he was acquitted of fraud but sentenced to five years in prison for money laundering.
On August 4, 2022 he was then extradited to the US to face 21 charges ranging from identity theft and facilitating drug trafficking to money laundering and operating an unlicensed money service.
Where is Alexander Vinnik now?
Alexander Vinnik is currently being detained in at prison in San Francisco, awaiting trial.
In September 2022 he pleaded for a prisoner swap in order to be allowed to return home.
Vinnik’s lawyer, Frederic Belot, wrote to Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov to ask him to begin negotiating with the US.
It said: “Now the only thing that can save Alexander is for the Russian Federation to enter into negotiations with the American authorities within the framework of the exchange of prisoners between the countries mentioned.”
Despite the requests, no such swap has yet been agreed.
What is Alexander Vinnik’s age?
Alexander Vinnik was born in 1979 in Kurgan, Russia. He is 44 years old.
Who is Alexander Vinnik’s wife and does he have children?
Alexander Vinnik was married to fellow Russian national Alexandra Shevchenko and the pair had two children together.
Shevchenko and her two sons were witnesses to Vinnik’s arrest in Greece and watched on as he was bragged by police from the beach.
While the Russian crypto criminal was in prison awaiting trial, his wife was diagnosed with brain cancer. She died on November 11, 2020.
Vinnik’s requests to attend Shevchenko’s funeral were rejected over fears he would use the ceremony as an opportunity to try and escape.
The pair’s two children now live with Vinnik’s mother.
What is Alexander Vinnik’s net worth?
24/7 Crypto believes Alexander Vinnik had a net worth of over $1billion at the peak of his criminal enterprise.
While he kept his wealth hidden in secret bank accounts, some parts of his wealth have come to light in recent years.
In 2019 New Zealand froze $91million US dollars worth of assets associated with the Russian national.
Vinnik also faces $100million in fines and costs if he is convicted of all charges in the US.
He was ordered to pay $107,000 in fines by France after being convicted there in 2020.
His net worth is now likely to be about $500,000 due to the number of fines stacked up against him and the assets he has lost due to being frozen.