Russian lobbies to be part of potential prisoner swap for Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan

Washington — A Russian accused of money laundering is lobbying to be included in a possible prisoner swap between the U.S. and Russia, a court filing revealed. 

Alexander Vinnik, a Russian national who allegedly laundered billions of dollars through an illicit cryptocurrency exchange, was extradited in August from Greece to California, where he remains in custody. 

Vinnik was arrested in Greece in 2017 at the request of the U.S. He was later extradited to France, where he was convicted of money laundering and sentenced to five years in prison. He returned to Greece after serving his sentence, then was extradited to the U.S.