Greek Justice Minister Constantinos Tsiaras recently delivered the decision for the extradition of Alexander Vinnik, a Russian national who is a suspect in a case of a massive laundering scheme, to France.
This has upset Russia since the country has been trying for years to persuade Athens to allow his return to his home country.
Vinnik was arrested in July 2017 in Northern Greece.
3/3 Λυπούμαστε για το γεγονός ότι το τεκμηριωμένο αίτημα της Γενικής Εισαγγελίας της #Ρωσία/ς για την ως προτεραιότητα έκδοση του Αλεξάντρ Βίννικ στη χώρα της υπηκοότητάς του αγνοήθηκε. pic.twitter.com/EQVemgIfzm
— Rus Embassy, Greece (@RFEmbassyGr) December 20, 2019
The Russian Embassy to Greece uploaded a series of tweets on Friday, informing the public about the decision for the extradition to France.
”We regret that the documented request by the Prosecutor General’s Office of Russia for the extradition of Alexander Vinnik to his country of citizenship was ignored,” the Russian Embassy noted.
Former Greek Speaker of the House and now defense lawyer of Vinnik Zoe Constantopoulou said she would file a request to suspend and cancel the justice minister’s decision to extradite her client to France.
”Mr Bitcoin” as Vinnik is also known, is sought by the United States, France and Russia, all of which have issued international arrest warrants over an e-currency platform he set up and is charged with using for money laundering.
The final decision on his extradition rested with the Justice Minister, who decided to extradite him in order of priority to France, the US and finally Russia.
Vinnik is reported to have agreed to be extradited to Russia, since Moscow accuses him for lesser offences, compared to what France and the US accuse him of having done.
Vinnik denies any wrongdoing.
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