Russia’s Cybercriminal Alexander Vinnik Released in Exchange for US Citizen Mark Fogel

Russian cybercrime kingpin Alexander Vinnik, recently released from a US prison in a prisoner exchange, has returned to Moscow, Russian state news agencies RIA Novosti and TASS reported on February 14.

Vinnik was released in exchange for former US Embassy staffer Mark Fogel, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced on February 12.

Fogel, who was serving a 14-year sentence in Russia Fogel, was arrested in 2021 at a Russian airport for carrying cannabis into Russia, which he claimed was for medical purposes.

Vinnik was arrested in Greece in July 2017 at the request of the US, which accused him of laundering between $4 billion and $9 billion through the now-defunct BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange.

After being extradited to France, he was later handed over to the US in August 2022. At the time of his release, Vinnik had not yet been sentenced.

Earlier, Marc Fogel, an American teacher detained in Russia, was released in what the White House described as a diplomatic development that could facilitate negotiations to end the war against Ukraine.