PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd October, 2020) A Paris court will rule on the case of Russian citizen Alexander Vinnik, who is charged in France with extortion and money laundering, on December 7, and he will remain in custody until the court ruling, the judge said on Friday.
The trial in the Vinnik case has been held in Paris since Monday. On Friday, the last day of the court hearing took place, lawyers of a number of French companies affected by the spread of the Locky malware spoke in the morning. This was followed by a speech by prosecutor Johanna Brousse, who called Vinnik the "brain" of the Locky malware and the BTC platform, "a very capable and smart pirate." She demanded to sentence Vinnik to 10 years in prison and a fine of 750,000 Euros.
The defense insisted on Vinnik's innocence, stressing that there was no evidence of Vinnik's involvement in the Locky virus and in the criminal scheme described by the prosecutor's office. He called the punishment demanded by the prosecutor "inhumane and irreparable", also pointing out that Vinnik, who has been in prison for more than three years, is unable to see his sick wife and children.
