Greek Supreme Court extradition hearing for Russian suspect

ATHENS, Greece – Russian cybercrime suspect Alexander Vinnik, wanted in the United States on charges of laundering billions of dollars’ worth of bitcoin, is appearing before Greece’s Supreme Court for a hearing into his extradition to the U.S.

The Supreme Court will hear the case Wednesday, and is expected to issue a decision in coming days.

Russia is also seeking Vinnik’s extradition on lesser charges, and the 37-year-old is not fighting that request. The U.S. accuses Vinnik of laundering $4 billion worth of bitcoins through BTC-e, one of the world’s largest digital currency exchanges, which he allegedly operated. Russia accuses him of a 667,000-ruble ($11,500) fraud.

If the Supreme Court decides in favour of extradition to the U.S., the final decision of where Vinnik will go will rest with Greece’s justice minister.