US releases Russian Bitcoin fraud suspect as Belarus frees American

The US will release a Russian national as part of a prisoner exchange that brought home American schoolteacher Marc Fogel.

Alexander Vinnik was arrested in 2017 on charges related to the laundering of billions of dollars using virtual currency Bitcoin. A US grand jury charged Vinnik on 21 counts related to the laundering of stolen funds.

The White House confirmed to the BBC Vinnik's identity and impending release.

President Donald Trump also indicated earlier that another detainee would be freed in the exchange for Fogel after he was released from a prison in Russia and returned to the US Tuesday night.

Vinnik, the Russian national, operated cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e. He was arrested in Greece at the request of US authorities who believed he was responsible for laundering as much as $4bn (£3.22bn) through the exchange.

He pleaded guilty to the charges in May of last year and was facing as many as 20 years in prison when sentenced.

According to the US Justice Department, BTC-e was used by cyber criminals around the world to transfer, launder and store the proceeds of illegal crimes including hacking incidents, ransomware attacks, identity theft schemes, corrupt public officials and drug sales.

Vinnik allegedly used BTC-e to promote these activities and US authorities said at the time he was responsible for the loss of about $121m.

The justice department said that the firm had no anti-money laundering or KYC - "Know Your Customer" - processes in place, as required by US federal law. It collected no customer data, which investigators said made it attractive to criminals.

Separately on Wednesday, the White House announced that Belarus had freed three detainees after a US representative traveled to Minsk to negotiate their release.

US Envoy for Hostages Adam Boehler said in a CNN interview that one American was among the three detainees. He said that Belarus had released an additional detainee last week, who is now in Texas.

He only provided first names for several of those released. He said that one of those released is a "well known journalist".

Boehler said that the US secured a "deal", but that Belarus received nothing in exchange. He added that Trump was "deeply involved" in negotiations.

Boehler told reporters that Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko agreed to the release "to curry favour" with Trump. He also called on the leaders of Venezuela, Iran and Gaza to release Americans that he said they are holding prisoner.

Belarus is a strong ally of Russia, but it remains unclear if the deal was connected to the US-Russia prisoner swap.

Journalist Andrey Kuznechyk, a father of two, was among those freed, his employer Radio Liberty said in a statement.

Radio Liberty, also known as Radio Free Europe, is a US government-funded organisation which broadcasts news in areas of the world where free press may be restricted or not yet established.

"This is a joyous day for Andrey, his wife, Alesya, and their two young children. After more than three years apart, this family is together again thanks to President Trump," company President Stephen Capus said in a statement.

Kuznechyk was arrested in November 2021 on charges of hooliganism and sentenced to 10 days, according to Radio Liberty. Before he was released, he was charged with creating an extremist group and sentenced to six years.