US Intelligence Continues to Seek Russian National Vinnik's Extradition - Source

ATHENS (Sputnik) - US intelligence services have not abandoned attempts to have Alexander Vinnik, a Russian national held in a Greek jail at Washington's request, extradited to the United States, a source told Sputnik.

"The US intelligence services are seeking his extradition and trying to offer him a deal — a short prison sentence and cooperation in exchange for Vinnik pleading guilty. Vinnik is strongly against this plan," the source said.

Vinnik was detained in Greece after the United States accused him of laundering between $4 billion and $9 billion on a bitcoin trading platform.

In October, two different judge panels in Thessaloniki adopted two mutually exclusive decisions of the same judicial force, one on the extradition of Vinnik to Russia and the other on his extradition to the United States. In December, the Supreme Court of Greece upheld the decision to extradite the Russian citizen to the United States. The final decision lies with the Greek justice minister.