Donald Trump facilitated the exchange of Alexander Vinnik for former U.S. Embassy staffer Marc Fogel, who had been imprisoned in Russia. The president’s administration confirmed the swap to NYPost.

Fogel was arrested in 2021 at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport on charges of drug smuggling. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

Alexander Vinnik was detained in Greece in the summer of 2017 over alleged ties to the BTC-e exchange and money laundering. In 2020, he was extradited to France, where he received a five-year prison sentence and a €100,000 fine. Later, he was transferred to the U.S., where he faced up to 55 years in prison.

In 2024, Vinnik pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder money and was ordered to pay $121 million in damages. He was also involved in a fraud case in Russia.

Expert Commentary

Exved CEO Sergey Mendeleev told ForkLog that the BTC-e case in the U.S. remains open, with Alexander Klimenko awaiting trial and Alexander Werner still on the run. He noted that Vinnik’s release would not affect the fate of other suspects.

“In Russia, he certainly won’t be imprisoned despite the investigation and his confession. But many believe he still has a lot of money, so we’ll see how things unfold,” Mendeleev added.

Previously, Russia sentenced Alexey Bilyuchenko (Ivanov), known as the “Red Admin” of WEX. The U.S. Department of Justice claims that he, Vinnik, Klimenko, and a Cypriot citizen controlled the BTC-e exchange from 2011 to 2017.