A cryptocurrency expert languishing in a Greek jail may have a vantage point on a tantalising issue - how Russians in US Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s crosshairs used Bitcoin to obscure their money trail.
The expert, Russian citizen Alexander Vinnik, was detained last year after US prosecutors in San Francisco accused him of supervising a digital-currency exchange that helped criminals launder billions of dollars. That exchange, according to cryptocurrency analysis company Elliptic, handled some Bitcoins traced to Fancy Bear, a hacking unit. Fancy Bear is one of the names for the Russian military intelligence officers who Mr Mueller separately accuses of stealing and releasing Democrats’ emails to sway votes in the 2016 elections.
Three countries are fighting to extradite Mr Vinnik: Russia, France and the US. The link outlined by Elliptic could explain why - and why Russia has threatened retaliation against Greece if it hands him over to one of the others.
The next turn in the Greek matter comes Tuesday. The country’s Supreme Court is set to rule on extradition requests from France and Russia, which both allege that Mr Vinnik committed cybercrimes against their citizens.
Mr Vinnik is one of multiple Russian hackers indicted by the US, some of whom could provide insights into Russian cybercrime beyond their individual cases.
Yevgeniy Nikulin, who was extradited from the Czech Republic and is charged in San Francisco with hacking LinkedIn and Dropbox in 2012, is of interest in the US inquiry into election meddling, a Justice Department official said last week. Peter Levashov, a Russian programmer who has claimed he worked for Vladimir Putin’s ruling party, is charged in Connecticut with cybercrimes linked to spamming.
Mr Vinnik denies the US money-laundering accusations, according to his lawyer, Ilias Spyrliadis. He had no control over the $9 billion (Dh33.06bn) in Bitcoin that US prosecutors in San Francisco say ran through BTC-e, the cryptocurrency exchange, the lawyer said.
Mr Vinnik won’t comment on the Russian fraud accusations, Mr Spyrliadis said, and he denies the French charges including money laundering. Still, as an alternative to extradition, Mr Vinnik has offered to work with Greek and possibly other authorities from his current location, the lawyer said.
In the San Francisco case, the US says that Mr Vinnik and BTC-e catered to cybercriminals and allowed them to launder criminal proceeds from Bitcoin and other digital currencies and turn them into cash. The exchange didn’t vet customers, letting them move money in and out anonymously. To set up an account, according to the indictment, all a person needed was a username, password and email address, which often bore no relationship to the identity of the user.
That sort of service matches a description by Mr Mueller of how the Russian military intelligence officers layered transactions through cryptocurrency exchanges to maintain anonymity when they bought time on servers they used to launch attacks.
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Read more:
US arrests of Russian cyber criminals hit record high
WATCH: Russian arrested over alleged digital currency laundering
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Elliptic used details provided in the indictment, such as a transfer of exactly 0.026043 Bitcoin on February 1, 2016, to search the electronic register of all Bitcoin transactions - known as the blockchain - to find specific payments. It then used software it has developed to identify the origin of the funds for those transactions.
“There was a strong link between much of the funds allegedly used by the Fancy Bear group and BTC-e," said Tom Robinson, Elliptic’s chief data officer. “What I can’t say for certain is whether Fancy Bear obtained them directly from BTC-e, or whether there was an intermediary."
Mr Vinnik couldn’t have known who, really, was using the platform, Mr Spyrliadis said. While Mr Vinnik was an expert working for BTC-e he was “in no way running it”, the lawyer said.
"Mr Vinnik could sometimes see a passport and ID when performing the transactions, but was in no place to know whether this person was using a fake ID, whether he or she was wanted by Interpol or involved in anything," he said.
The US has been trying to get its hands on Mr Vinnik for more than a year. Greece’s Supreme Court ruled in December that he could be extradited to the US to face the charges in San Francisco. But the process has been stalled by the requests from Russian and France. Greece’s Supreme Court may well approve both the French and Russian requests, Mr Spyrliadis said.
That would punt the decision to Greece’s new justice minister. Before coming to any resolution on extradition, the Greek Justice Ministry will also need to examine a political asylum request by Mr Vinnik. A justice ministry spokeswoman said the minister couldn’t comment on the case as he has just assumed his post.
A co-operating Mr Vinnik would open the door to the US gaining strategic information on Russian hackers, said Arkady Bukh, the lead lawyer defending Mr Nikulin. Getting access to emails, names and bank accounts related to Russian hacking is what Mr Vinnik’s case in the US is really about, said Mr Bukh, who isn’t representing Mr Vinnik.
Cryptocurrency exchanges are “extremely important and of great interest to the US", said Mr Bukh. He had been in touch with Mr Vinnik’s friends about getting him legal representation outside of Greece, he said.
But first, the US would have to get its hands on Mr Vinnik, something Russia appears dead set against.
A Greek regional court approved the French extradition request in July. Russia immediately lashed out at the country: “It is obvious the Russia cannot leave these actions unanswered,” its foreign ministry warned.
Later that same day, July 13, Mr Mueller rolled out his indictment against the Russian military intelligence officers.
PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
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RESULTS
Catchweight 63.5kg: Shakriyor Juraev (UZB) beat Bahez Khoshnaw (IRQ). Round 3 TKO (body kick)
Lightweight: Nart Abida (JOR) beat Moussa Salih (MAR). Round 1 by rear naked choke
Catchweight 79kg: Laid Zerhouni (ALG) beat Ahmed Saeb (IRQ). Round 1 TKO (punches)
Catchweight 58kg: Omar Al Hussaini (UAE) beat Mohamed Sahabdeen (SLA) Round 1 rear naked choke
Flyweight: Lina Fayyad (JOR) beat Sophia Haddouche (ALG) Round 2 TKO (ground and pound)
Catchweight 80kg: Badreddine Diani (MAR) beat Sofiane Aïssaoui (ALG) Round 2 TKO
Flyweight: Sabriye Sengul (TUR) beat Mona Ftouhi (TUN). Unanimous decision
Middleweight: Kher Khalifa Eshoushan (LIB) beat Essa Basem (JOR). Round 1 rear naked choke
Heavyweight: Mohamed Jumaa (SUD) beat Hassen Rahat (MAR). Round 1 TKO (ground and pound)
Lightweight: Abdullah Mohammad Ali Musalim (UAE beat Omar Emad (EGY). Round 1 triangle choke
Catchweight 62kg: Ali Taleb (IRQ) beat Mohamed El Mesbahi (MAR). Round 2 KO
Catchweight 88kg: Mohamad Osseili (LEB) beat Samir Zaidi (COM). Unanimous decision
MATCH INFO
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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SPECS
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How the UAE gratuity payment is calculated now
Employees leaving an organisation are entitled to an end-of-service gratuity after completing at least one year of service.
The tenure is calculated on the number of days worked and does not include lengthy leave periods, such as a sabbatical. If you have worked for a company between one and five years, you are paid 21 days of pay based on your final basic salary. After five years, however, you are entitled to 30 days of pay. The total lump sum you receive is based on the duration of your employment.
1. For those who have worked between one and five years, on a basic salary of Dh10,000 (calculation based on 30 days):
a. Dh10,000 ÷ 30 = Dh333.33. Your daily wage is Dh333.33
b. Dh333.33 x 21 = Dh7,000. So 21 days salary equates to Dh7,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service. Multiply this figure for every year of service up to five years.
2. For those who have worked more than five years
c. 333.33 x 30 = Dh10,000. So 30 days’ salary is Dh10,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service.
Note: The maximum figure cannot exceed two years total salary figure.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
World Cup warm up matches
May 24 Pakistan v Afghanistan, Bristol; Sri Lanka v South Africa, Cardiff
May 25 England v Australia, Southampton; India v New Zealand, The Oval
May 26 South Africa v West Indies, Bristol; Pakistan v Bangladesh, Cardiff
May 27 Australia v Sri Lanka, Southampton; England v Afghanistan, The Oval
May 28 West Indies v New Zealand, Bristol; Bangladesh v India, Cardiff
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE%3A
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Envision%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EKarthik%20Mahadevan%20and%20Karthik%20Kannan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20The%20Netherlands%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Technology%2FAssistive%20Technology%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%241.5%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2020%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204impact%2C%20ABN%20Amro%2C%20Impact%20Ventures%20and%20group%20of%20angels%3C%2Fp%3E%0A