Alexander Vinnik, a 38 year old Russian man suspected of running a money laundering operation using bitcoin. File
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

Alexander Vinnik, a Russian suspected cybercrime kingpin who was arrested in Greece in 2017, convicted of money laundering in France three years later and is now awaiting trial in California, has pleaded partially guilty, TASS news agency cited his lawyer as saying on Saturday.

The lawyer, Arkady Bukh, said that as a result of the plea bargain he now expected Vinnik to get a prison term of less than 10 years.

“He pleaded guilty on a restricted number of charges,” TASS quoted Bukh as saying, adding that Vinnik had faced life imprisonment.

“The culmination of the negotiations was a deal with the prosecutor’s office. We expect that the prison term will be up to 10 years.”

Vinnik, accused of laundering more than $4 billion through the digital currency bitcoin, was arrested in 2017 in Greece at the request of the United States, although Moscow has repeatedly demanded he be returned to Russia.

He was extradited to France from Greece where he was sentenced to five years in prison for money laundering before he was sent back to Greece and then on to the United States in 2022.

The U.S. Department of Justice has said Vinnik “allegedly owned, operated, and administrated BTC-e, a significant cybercrime and online money laundering entity that allowed its users to trade in bitcoin with high levels of anonymity and developed a customer base heavily reliant on criminal activity.”

The maximum penalty for the U.S. charges against Vinnik is 55 years in prison, according to the U.S. Department of Justice website.

Strong winds carrying dust from the Sahara Desert turned the sky apocalyptic “orange” over Athens and other Greek cities on Tuesday. Social media was awash with orange images of the Greek capital as locals and tourists alike were stunned by the phenomenon. One user posted a video of their windshield covered in sand, while another branded the scene as “apocalyptic” as they posted footage of their surroundings on X (formerly Twitter). 

It’s apocalyptic in Athens right now. Mind you, no filter used. pic.twitter.com/YMTWKnVA6P

— Elly Vintiadis (@EllyVintiadis) April 23, 2024

According to SkyNews, the orange sky over Greece deteriorated the air quality and spiked temperatures, in what officials said was one of the worst such incidents since 2018. On Tuesday, the daily high in parts of the southern island of Crete topped 30 degrees Celsius, more than 20 degrees higher than what was registered in much of northern Greece.

The strong southerly winds also fanned unseasonal early wildfires in the country’s south. The fire service said that a total of 25 wildfires broke out across the country in the past 24 hours. Separately, cops reportedly said that three people were arrested on the Aegean Sea resort island of Paros on suspicion of accidentally starting a scrub blaze on Monday. 

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The yellow-orange haze limited visibility and prompted warnings from the authorities of breathing risks, The Guardian reported. “It’s one of the most serious episodes of dust and sand concentrations from the Sahara since March 21-22, 2018, when the clouds invaded the island of Crete in particular,” said Kostas Lagouvardos, weather research director at the Athens Observatory.

Authorities warned that the dust concentrations can reduce sunlight and increase concentrations of fine pollution particles, posing risks for people with underlying health problems. The Greek weather service said the skies would begin to clear on Wednesday.

An X user posted a video saying, “What’s going on – I never saw this – It’s completely Orange – the Sun should be there.”

Athens, Greece 23/04/2024

“What’s going on – I never saw this – It’s completely Orange – the Sun should be there” pic.twitter.com/kQWT26OOOX

— Concerned Citizen (@BGatesIsaPyscho) April 23, 2024

“Yea I witnessed the weirdest sky over Athens yesterday,” said another.

Yea I witnessed the weirdest sky over Athens yesterday pic.twitter.com/m8zvkACwA0

— Electric KC (@EKC_DAO) April 24, 2024

As the week progresses, the Eastern Mediterranean will experience a return of fresher and cleaner air, along with temperatures that will be closer to normal for this time of year, authorities said.