What actually did Alexander Vinnik / BTC-e do?
According to ZDNET
A French judge has sentenced today the founder of the now-defunct BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange to five years in prison and a fine of €100,000 for laundering funds for cybercriminals, including ransomware gangs
According to The Guardian
During his time in the digital currency market, US authorities allege Vinnik facilitated crimes including hacking, fraud, identity theft, tax refund fraud, public corruption and drug trafficking. Greek police described Vinnik as a “an internationally sought ‘mastermind’ of a crime organisation”.
There were other, as yet unproven, allegations of crimes including direct involvement in ransomware activity and theft of Bitcoin from the MtGox exchange.
So Vinnick was not simply the owner of an exchange unknowingly used by criminals. He was convicted for knowingly receiving and laundering the proceeds of criminal activity.
