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Alexander Vinnik, a Russian national linked to the BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange, was convicted in France of organized aggravated money laundering on 7 December 2020. The Paris Criminal Court sentenced him to five years in prison and fined him €100,000. It acquitted him of the other French charges, including allegations concerning Locky ransomware cyberattacks.
What the French court decided
The Paris Criminal Court found Vinnik guilty of organized aggravated money laundering. It did not convict him of carrying out Locky ransomware attacks: the court acquitted him of the other charges. The distinction matters because the case involved alleged laundering of proceeds associated with ransomware, but the French judgment was a laundering conviction, not a cybercrime conviction.
The French Senate’s cybersecurity report says the trial court considered there to be sufficient evidence of Vinnik’s involvement in laundering Locky ransomware proceeds through BTC-e. That account of the court’s reasoning does not change the acquittal on the cybercrime allegations. The Senate described the case as: “Un exemple des limites actuelles des outils juridiques pour lutter efficacement contre la cybercriminalité est l’affaire Vinnik.” (“An example of the current limits of legal tools for effectively combating cybercrime is the Vinnik case.”) French Senate cybersecurity report
Sentence and appeal
On 7 December 2020, the Paris Criminal Court imposed five years’ imprisonment and a €100,000 fine. Reports said prosecutors had sought a ten-year sentence; that was the prosecution’s request, not the court’s ruling. Le Monde reported that the court retained one of 14 charges: organized money laundering. Paris Criminal Court judgment reporting · Le Monde report
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On 24 June 2021, the Paris Court of Appeal upheld the conviction and sentence. Paris Court of Appeal decision reporting
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How the separate U.S. case differs
Vinnik’s French case should not be conflated with the later U.S. matter. On 4 August 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that he had been extradited from Greece to the United States to face a separate BTC-e-related indictment. The DOJ announcement describes allegations in that indictment; they are not findings by the French court. U.S. Department of Justice announcement
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| Proceeding | Jurisdiction and date | What was established in the cited account |
|---|---|---|
| French trial | Paris Criminal Court, 7 December 2020 | Conviction for organized aggravated money laundering; acquittal on the other charges, including Locky-related cybercrime allegations; five years’ imprisonment and a €100,000 fine. Court reporting |
| French appeal | Paris Court of Appeal, 24 June 2021 | Conviction and sentence upheld. Appeal reporting |
| U.S. case | U.S. federal proceedings; extradition announced 4 August 2022 | Extradition to face a separate BTC-e-related indictment; the DOJ release describes allegations, not a French-court finding. DOJ announcement |
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