Alexander Vinnik
A Russian national who U.S. prosecutors say was an operator of the BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange. He pleaded guilty in 2024 to a money-laundering conspiracy; the DOJ said BTC-e handled over $9 billion and that he was responsible for at least $121 million in losses.
Also known as: Sasha WME, Alexander Vinnick
Bio
Alexander Vinnik (also known as "Sasha WME") is a Russian national whom the U.S. Department of Justice identifies as one of the operators of BTC-e, a cryptocurrency exchange that ran from 2011 to 2017. He was arrested in Greece in July 2017 and, after a multi-year extradition fight involving Greece, France, and Russia, was extradited to the United States in August 2022. [1][2]
Legal outcome
On May 3, 2024, Vinnik pleaded guilty in the Northern District of California to conspiracy to commit money laundering for his role in operating BTC-e. The DOJ said the exchange processed more than $9 billion across over a million users and that Vinnik was directly responsible for at least $121 million in losses. [1][2]
In February 2025, the U.S. dismissed the case and released Vinnik as part of a prisoner exchange; he was repatriated to Russia. [2]
Bracketed numbers refer to the numbered sources listed below.
Linked scams & cases
Sources (2)
- BTC-e Operator Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering Conspiracy — U.S. DOJ
- Alexander Vinnik (overview) — Wikipedia
See also
- Blockchain Terminal (BCT)TokensA 2017–2018 ICO (BCT tokens, ~$30M) for a 'Blockchain Terminal' — a Bloomberg-style crypto trading terminal. The SEC and DOJ said convicted ex-hedge-funder Boaz Manor secretly ran it under a fake identity ('Shaun MacDonald'), using associate Edith Pardo as a front, and lied about the product's adoption.
- Dropil (DROP)TokensAn ICO for the DROP token built around a fake 'Dex' trading bot. The SEC said it raised ~$1.9M while claiming $54M from 34,000 investors, and that the founders falsified evidence during the probe. Founders Jeremy McAlpine and Zachary Matar pleaded guilty to securities fraud (36 and 30 months).
- CluCoin (CLU)Tokens
This page was last updated on Jun 8, 2026. View revision history.