A French liberty and custody judge will decide on the issue of the pre-trial detention of alleged Russian cryptocurrency fraud Alexander Vinnik on January 28, his lawyer, Ariane Zimra, told Sputnik on Friday
PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th January, 2020) A French liberty and custody judge will decide on the issue of the pre-trial detention of alleged Russian cryptocurrency fraud Alexander Vinnik on January 28, his lawyer, Ariane Zimra, told Sputnik on Friday.
On Thursday, after a two-year legal debate, Vinnik was extradited from Greece to France. He was transferred from a hospital in Greece to Hotel-Dieu hospital in Paris.
"We are not talking about a trial at the moment. On Tuesday, January 28, he will face a liberty and custody court to determine conditions of his pre-trial detention," Zimra said.
She also touched upon Vinnik's current state.
"I saw him yesterday. He is in a bad shape: he is very weak, he was shocked when he was not told where he was being taken, what was happening. He has been on a hunger strike for 34 days, so he is very weak, physically and psychologically," she said.
Vinnik was detained in Greece in 2017 at the request of the United States, which accuses him of laundering $4 billion worth of funds through a cryptocurrency trading platform. France also filed charges against Vinnik, however, his lawyer claimed that it was only a ploy to have him extradited to the US. Russia has submitted a separate extradition request. Vinnik has denied committing any criminal or administrative offenses.
