YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) — Alexander Vinnik, the former BTC-e operator, landed in Moscow on Feb. 13 after a prisoner swap between Russia and the United States. Vinnik arrived at Vnukovo International Airport on a Mitsubishi Challenger jet from Istanbul, Turkey, according to TASS.
The exchange involved Marc Fogel, an American teacher, who had been in Russian custody since 2021 after being arrested for carrying cannabis. The prisoner exchange was completed on Feb. 11, returning Fogel to the United States while Vinnik was sent back to Russia.
Alexander Vinnik and BTC-e’s History in Crypto Laundering
Authorities arrested Vinnik in Greece in 2017 and later extradited him to the United States in August 2022. In May 2024, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering while operating BTC-e from 2011 to 2017.
The U.S. Justice Department reported that BTC-e processed over $9 billion in transactions and had more than one million users globally. Investigators linked BTC-e to the Mt. Gox hack, where stolen Bitcoin (BTC) was allegedly laundered through the platform. A Cointelegraph Magazine investigation found that BTC-e users converted illicit BTC into Ethereum (ETH) through Ethereum’s initial coin offering (ICO).
Vinnik’s partner, Aleksey Bilyuchenko, remains on the United States Secret Service’s most-wanted list for his role in the BTC-e operation.
US-Russia Relations and Political Context
The prisoner swap took place amid ongoing US-Russia tensions. Reports indicate that a potential meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin could happen in Saudi Arabia, with discussions on the Russia-Ukraine war expected.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance warned Russia of sanctions and possible military action if Vladimir Putin refuses a peace deal guaranteeing Ukraine’s independence, according to The Wall Street Journal. He stated that all options remain open, including deploying U.S. forces, if Russia does not engage in good-faith negotiations.
His remarks follow President Donald Trump’s push for peace talks, though Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected any agreement that does not directly involve Ukraine. Vance is set to speak at the Munich Security Conference, where he will urge European leaders to take a stronger stance against Russia. Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth downplayed the likelihood of U.S. military involvement, highlighting differences in Washington’s approach.
At a NATO meeting in Brussels on Feb. 12, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said that Ukraine regaining its pre-2014 borders was not a realistic goal. He also stated that the Trump administration does not support NATO membership for Ukraine as a likely outcome.
