Russian Bitcoin exchange co-founder to be freed by the US after American’s release

Alexander Vinnik, the co-founder of BTC-e, is in U.S. custody in California and being prepared for transport to Russia, the official said.

U.S. authorities have said BTC-e was a key platform used by cybercriminals to facilitate ransomware extortions, identity-theft schemes and narcotics distribution. Vinnik had been awaiting sentencing in the U.S. in late June, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. He had been detained since 2017, first in Greece and then in France, before his extradition to the U.S. in 2022 at the age of 42.

Preparations for Vinnik’s departure from the U.S. followed a hastily convened hearing Tuesday at a U.S. federal court in San Francisco about his case, which took place behind closed doors.

A few hours later, Fogel arrived in the U.S. and was greeted at the White House by President Trump, his special envoy Steve Witkoff and a roster of other politicians.

By then, Vinnik could no longer be located in inmate records for the county jail that had been holding him. Still, Vinnik’s lawyers didn’t know what was happening to their client.

The White House hadn’t initially indicated what, if anything, the U.S. had given Russia to secure Fogel’s release. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had suggested in an interview Tuesday with NewsNation: “I think it’s also important to note it was not in return for anything."

He added: “There wasn’t some deal here where we had to release like 10 spies."

On Wednesday, the U.S. official who confirmed Vinnik was being released sought to frame it as a show of good faith by Russia, linked to overall talks between the two countries that go beyond a straightforward prisoner swap.

The U.S. official confirmed that another American would be coming home Wednesday, without saying from where.

Write to Louise Radnofsky at louise.radnofsky@wsj.com, Georgi Kantchev at georgi.kantchev@wsj.com and Alex Leary at alex.leary@wsj.com