Today, July 28, 2022, Zoe Konstantopoulou, lawyer for Alexander Vinnik, gave a press conference about the developments regarding his case. The case of Alexander Vinnik, also known as “Mr. Bitcoin”, is a truly stormy case that we constantly have new developments!
The last time we mentioned Mr. Vinnik was on May 17, 2022, when his lawyer, Zoe Konstantopoulou, filed a request asking the Council of State to revoke the decision to extradite Alexander to the US, who remains a prisoner in France.
What are the developments?
Mr. Alexander Vinnik, as we all know, is being held under inhumane conditions in France, while he has been acquitted of 19/20 offenses that burdened him, while the one charge that now burdens him is a misdemeanor.
The development appears to be that US authorities have withdrawn their request for the extradition of Alexander Vinnik from France in order to have him reach their hands more quickly through Greece.
Ms. Konstantopoulou clearly stated that the US move is intended to accelerate the extradition of VINIK through Greece, which, as she characteristically said, "does what America tells it.".
The French prosecutor's office reopened the US extradition request on July 1, 2022, in order to prevent the Russian from being released. This is all a "deceptive maneuver" aimed at ensuring that Vinnik remains behind bars until he returns to Greece, Ms. Kostantopoulou says.
See also: Alexander Vinnik: Developments from Zoe Konstantopoulou at the Supreme Court
Greek authorities had already granted the US extradition request before sending him to France. This means that his return to Greece could actually speed up his transfer to the United States. His next hearing in the French court has been postponed from September 7 to August 3. Until then, the Russian national will remain in French custody.
When asked why America wants Mr. Alexander Vinnik so much, Ms. Kostantopoulou replied that he was for use in the information war between Russia and the United States, which has intensified due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Also, another revelation made by Mrs. Zoe Konstantopoulou is that Vinic has filed a lawsuit against the Greek state for all the illegalities committed against him. This lawsuit targets all those who brought him to this situation, specifically the President of the Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou, the Prosecutor of Appeals at the Thessaloniki Court of Appeal Kamilaris and other involved individuals!
Let us remind those who are not aware of the following that took place at the hearing held on May 17 at the Council of State so that they understand why the lawsuit is directed at Mrs. Sakellaropoulou.
Zoe Konstantopoulou filed a request in May with the Council of State to annul the decision to extradite Alexander to the US. In her speech, she referred to the President of the Hellenic Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, saying that she “intervened in the proceedings for “Mr Bitcoin” by insisting on trying the case one by one in order to promote it.” At the time, Ms. Sakellaropoulou was President of the Council of State, and the lawyer stated that she removed the case from the schedule of the trial scheduled for 24/3/2020 and hastily scheduled it before the Plenary Session of the Council of State for 10 January 2020, shortening the deadlines and changing the rapporteur for the case, who had already been appointed.
A look back at what has happened in the past
Alexander Vinnik was arrested in July 2017 by Greek authorities while on vacation with his family in Halkidiki. His lawyer Zoe Konstantopoulou says the reason he was arrested is that the US Department of Justice and the Greek Ministry of Justice colluded to extradite Alexander, violating her client's rights.
The Minister of Justice, Konstantinos Tsiaras, ordered the extradition of Vinnik to France, then to the USA and finally to Russia. The Council of Justice decided that based on the international conventions signed by Greece with the USA and the Russian Federation, it follows that in the event of a confluence of extradition requests submitted by a third country (outside the EU) and a confluence of these requests with a European arrest warrant for a person prosecuted in the requesting states for different crimes, after the issuance of irrevocable opinions in favor of the extradition of the person in question by the competent judicial bodies, the Minister of Justice, if he finally decides to extradite the wanted person, determines, at his broad discretion, the order of priority among the states to which he will be extradited.
Vinnik's extradition had been requested by three countries: the USA, Russia and France. So the Council of State decided that the Minister of Justice would be the one to determine the order of the countries simultaneously requesting Vinnik's extradition! Ultimately, Vinnik was extradited to France in January 2020 – then to America and finally to Russia.
From May 18 to 28, 2021, the trial of Alexander Vinnik took place at the Paris Court of Appeal. Alexander Vinnik has today been acquitted of the vast majority of charges (19 out of 20) and has been convicted of only one, a misdemeanor. He appealed this one charge and the minor sentence, continuing to maintain his complete innocence. The Paris District Prosecutor also appealed, requesting that Alexander be retried on all charges.
Let us recall that Vinnik is also experiencing a family drama, as he lost his wife to cancer and brain damage and has not seen his two children since he was arrested.
