Vinnikov’s lawyers seek €5 million in compensation from France

The defence of Alexander Vinnikov, a Russian national convicted in France, has demanded that charges of money laundering be dropped and €5 million in moral damages be paid.

According to TASS, lawyer Frédéric Belo said the prosecution had provided no evidence of Vinnikov’s involvement in criminal activity.

He noted that the French authorities “are not attempting to hold the BTC-e exchange to account and rely solely on information from the US justice system, which baselessly labels the defendant as a co-founder of this platform”.

“The case concerns money laundering within a criminal group, but only one person sits on the defendant’s bench,” Belo noted.

The lawyer also stressed that the prosecution had not established that Vinnikov had access to the BTC-e management account.

The defence insists on dropping the charges and awarding Vinnikov €5 million in moral damages.

The French prosecutor’s office has asked to reduce the size of the fine, citing concerns that the amount may not be collectible from the Russian.

As reported earlier, a Paris court sentenced Vinnikov to five years in prison and a fine of €100,000. The lawyers filed an appeal, and also a lawsuit against the judges, who made the decision to extradite the Russian to Paris.

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