Greece’s top administrative court has suspended a decision to extradite a Russian man suspected of laundering billions of dollars in digital currency.
Greece’s justice minister decided on Friday to extradite Alexander Vinnik to France, after he was accused of being the mastermind of a US$4 billion bitcoin laundering ring. On Monday, this decision was overturned by a higher court.
Vinnik was detained while vacationing in Greece on July 25, 2017 at the United States’ request. The US accused him of laundering four to nine billion US dollars through a no longer existent Internet exchange of cryptocurrencies.
The extradition decision led Vinnik to start a new hunger strike, his lawyer Zoe Costantopoulou said. She called the decision unfair and a “death sentence”.
His health has been deteriorating, she said in a statement on Monday, adding the temporary suspension was “a recognition of the risk he faces if he is extradited.”
The date for the top court’s hearing has not yet been set.
The ministerial decision mentioned that a second destination should be the United States and lastly Russia, meaning that when he is done with his judicial proceedings in France he could be extradited to the United States.
Sourced via Reuters.
