MOSCOW — Alexander Vinnik, a convicted Russian criminal, is being freed as part of a swap that saw Moscow’s release of American Marc Fogel, two U.S. officials confirmed Wednesday.
Vinnik was arrested in 2017 in Greece at the request of the U.S. on cryptocurrency fraud charges and was later extradited to the United States where he pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit money laundering. He is currently in custody in California awaiting transport to return to Russia, the officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the swap.
The Kremlin said Wednesday that a Russian citizen was freed in the United States in exchange for Fogel but refused to identify him until he arrives in Russia.
President Donald Trump welcomed Fogel, who’s from Pennsylvania, at the White House Tuesday evening after his return to U.S. soil.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had told reporters that an unidentified individual would return to Russia “in the coming days,” and his name would be revealed when he returns home — unlike during past prisoner exchanges between Moscow and Washington, when Russians and Americans were released simultaneously and their identities were revealed right away.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov demurred when asked to elaborate on the deal that led to Fogel’s release, saying that such contacts “love silence” and deploring that Washington rushed to announce Fogel’s release.
“Our American colleagues have chosen to announce the results, we have a different approach to the agreements reached,” he said. “For efficient diplomacy, we prefer to observe confidentiality agreements.”
Fogel, an American history teacher who was deemed wrongfully detained by Russia, was arrested in August 2021 and was serving a 14-year prison sentence.
Trump declined to say if he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin about Fogel and didn’t say what the United States provided in exchange for Fogel’s release.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday, Trump suggested that Fogel’s release could help anchor a peace deal on Ukraine, saying: “We were treated very nicely by Russia, actually. I hope that’s the beginning of a relationship where we can end that war.”
The Kremlin was more cautious, but it also noted that the deal could help strengthen mutual trust.
“Such agreements can hardly serve as a turning point, but they are little steps toward building mutual confidence, which is at its lowest level,” Peskov said.
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