Alexander Vinnik Appears Before US Court for First Time

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Alexander Vinnik, who was previously extradited from Greece, has appeared for the first time before an American court in San Francisco, according to the US Department of Justice.

According to the indictment, Vinnik and his accomplices owned and operated the cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e. The agency has said it was “a major cybercrime and money laundering organization that allowed users to trade bitcoin with a high level of anonymity.”

The US authorities allege that criminals around the world transacted through BTC-e, and the exchange profited from numerous computer hacks, ransomware scams, identity theft, corrupt officials and drug dealers.

More than $4 billion in BTC has been sent to BTC-e over the entire period of its operation.