Greek authorities reportedly announced Wednesday that they arrested a Russian man accused of being the architect of a money laundering scheme involving more than $4 billion in virtual currency.
The U.S. is planning on extraditing the suspect, 38-year-old Alexander Vinnik, according to Reuters. Greek police apprehended him on an American warrant after law enforcement officials received a tip.
Alexander Vinnik (center) is escorted by plain-clothes police officers to a court in Thessaloniki, Greece, July 26, 2017. REUTERS/Alexandros Avramidis
Vinnik is the suspected mastermind behind a large systematic arrangement in which crypto-currencies, like bitcoin, were exchanged anonymously with other more legitimate forms of money. By managing and operating the illicit platform, he allegedly helped launder $4 billion.
“Since 2011 the 38-year-old has been running a criminal organization which administers one of the most important websites of electronic crime in the world,” Greek police said in a statement, according to Reuters. (RELATED: Dark Web Mastermind Would Have Eluded Cops If Not For His Interest In Rubber Gloves)
The arrest of Vinnik is just one recent example of the U.S. and other international police agencies trying to crack down on nefarious cyber criminals abroad. The U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday that, along with the help of other departments around the world, it helped shut down the notorious AlphaBay, a major online criminal black market.
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