The New Zealand police on Monday announced restraining about $90 million belonging to a company owned by Russian citizen Alexander Vinnik, who is currently in French custody
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd June, 2020) The New Zealand police on Monday announced restraining about $90 million belonging to a company owned by Russian citizen Alexander Vinnik, who is currently in French custody.
"New Zealand Police's Asset Recovery Unit has restrained NZD$140 million from Canton business Corporation and its owner Alexander Vinnik who were holding funds in a New Zealand company," the police said in a statement.
The restraint of funds is said to be the largest in the country's law enforcement history.
"New Zealand Police has worked closely with the Internal Revenue Service of the United States to address this very serious offending," Police Commissioner Andrew Coster 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 United States. Russia has submitted a separate extradition request. Vinnik has denied committing any criminal or administrative offenses. On January 23, he was extradited to France.
