Timofey Musatov, Russian lawyer Alexander Vinnik, suspected of laundering at least $ 4 billion through the BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange, spoke about his client’s story on the Russian radio station Vesti FM .

Immediately, we note that the interview was conducted by journalist Vladimir Solovyov. During the conversation, it became clear that he is rather poorly versed not only in the Vinnik case, but also in cryptocurrencies. So, he called the scheme of money laundering through the Bitcoin exchange “schizophrenia” because he could not understand its mechanism, asked Musatov to explain everything to him at Gazprom’s “more understandable” actions, and called cryptocurrency only as a “software thing” and “crypto” .

Musatov’s speech took place on the eve of the next court hearing in the Vinnik case, at which time his detention should be reviewed or extended.

The lawyer said that his client was illegally detained – the term of imprisonment exceeded the permissible 18 months under the Greek Constitution, he feels pressure and discrimination.

“Based on the charges, Alexander Vinnik hacked the blockchain technology in 2015 and somehow bitcoins were stolen from him from the Mt.Gox Japanese exchange, ” he tried to explain to Musatov as much as possible for the studio. – The United States insists that the interests of American citizens were affected – two corrupt FBI agents who were detained under corrupt schemes, who testified that they were laundering money that had been criminally acquired through BTC-e. Of the $ 6 billion turnover of the exchange, according to the prosecution, $ 1 billion of Fiat and cryptocurrency was lost. ”

Since in case of Vinnik's extradition to the USA, he faces up to 55 years in prison , the American authorities, according to Musatov, offer the Russian a deal with the investigation.

“The Americans through me offer him to testify that through the BTC-e exchange, Russian officials and big businessmen carried out their transactions, financed their crimes. In addition to the sanctions policy against Russian officials and leaders, they need to make them criminals. One case is sanctions against a citizen from the oil industry – we will not give his last name – and so it can be made a criminal, an accomplice of terrorists and drug trafficking, and after that you can do anything with it, ”said Timofey Musatov.

The detainee Vinnik himself, with whom the studio phoned (!) During the broadcast, adheres to a similar position, molded as if from a lawyer's words.

“The problem with the Americans is not my personal one, it arose 3-4 years ago, when Russia was tried to be crushed by sanctions and failed. Not only do I suffer, but many of our citizens, this is an information war against our best minds, against IT specialists. Attempt to intercept technology by force and blackmail, ” he confirmed.

Vinnik said that he is now in the hospital, where doctors are trying to stabilize his condition after a hunger strike that lasted more than a hundred days. It is logical to assume that a prisoner has no right to use any means of communication. But the studio easily dials Vinnik directly – he picks up the phone.

Even Soloviev does not hide his surprise at the time of the conversation. There is an interesting dialogue [from 32:18]:

– How is it possible that we call you in Greece, you are in prison, and you answer by phone?

– I'm in the hospital now. I am not allowed to use my mobile phone and all sources of information, but you can call from a payphone.

– So we call a payphone and you have the right to answer it?

– This is not a payphone, this is a special number made …

– Landline phone? (prompts Soloviev)

– Yes (picks up Vinnik).

Timofey Musatov explains the possibility of a direct dialogue with the client by the fact that he was “preparing for the broadcast”, but according to the BlockchainJournal source, the call was made on the personal mobile phone of Alexander Vinnik, who appeared about five months ago.

Further, Musatov says that Vinnik allegedly handed him a letter addressed to Russian President Vladimir Putin with a request to influence his speedy extradition to his homeland. However, Vinnik again confuses all the cards: “And when I passed, remind me?” [33:29].

“If there is no progress in my case, I will refuse medical assistance so that it would not be possible to extradite me to the United States or France. I made the decision to return to Russia in any outcome. If I die, please help my family and children and bury me according to the Christian rite in Russia. If you can't take me alive, take my body. Do not leave it to enemies, ”the message says.

Vinnik also indirectly hinted at his position in the BTC-e. Earlier, he reported that in BTC-e he performed “his official duties” .

“I am not a criminal. If we talk in such categories, then any bank operator can be blamed for money laundering. He cannot know what he is paying for. In the cryptocurrency that was created for financial freedom from the hegemony of banks and the dollar, the possibility of money laundering is a side effect, ” Vinnik said.

From these words, Vladimir Solovyov made his own inference:

“That is, your main crime is not that, how and who was financed, but that you tried, and apparently quite successfully, to undermine the hegemony of dollars and banks.”

However, in court documents, Alexander Vinnik is listed as the manager of BTC-e, as well as the beneficiary of a number of fictitious companies, in particular, Canton Business Corporation, which allowed BTC-e to transfer money internationally.

Recall that Alexander Vinnik was detained in Greece at the request of the American authorities on July 25, 2017. At the end of May, he confessed to fraud through the BTC-e Bitcoin Exchange, as well as money laundering in the amount of 750 million rubles in the territory of the Russian Federation. In June 2018, Vinnik was arrested in absentia in Russia on charges of cyber fraud on a large scale.

At the moment, there have been several court decisions on the extradition of Vinnik – at the request of the United States, at the request of France and two decisions at the request of Russia. The final decision on the case must take the Minister of Justice of Greece.

At the end of February, lawyer Timofey Musatov said that his client had never owned a sum of $ 4 billion, and all the money in the BTC-e case remained on servers in the United States and the WEX exchange .

In March, Alexander Vinnik filed an appeal with the court in the Greek city of Piraeus about his release or extradition to Russia.

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