Paris court begins hearings in the Alexander Vinnik case

Hearings began in a Paris correctional court in the case of Russian national Alexander Vinnik. In France, he is accused of money laundering, theft of personal data, and is linked to the dissemination of the Locky ransomware.

As reported by ТАСС, citing attorney Frédéric Belo, Vinnik is confident in his innocence and will prove it in court.

The charges against him are unfair, and he intends to demonstrate that he has no involvement with the malicious program Locky. If the operators of BTC-e committed crimes for which the evidence must be provided, they should be held responsible for their actions, not Vinnik, who worked as a simple operator,\” Belo said.

During the session, a timetable for the hearings will be approved. It is initially planned to run until October 22. The positions of civil parties will also be voiced in court.

On the eve, Vinnik was moved to a prison with better conditions, but Belo argues that even now his client’s health remains a concern.

Earlier this year, Alexander Vinnik was extradited to France. Since then he has remained in custody.

In September, Russia’s human rights commissioner Tatiana Moskalkova appealed to the French Minister of Justice, requesting assistance in the Vinnik case.

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