Vinnik's lawyer assessed the chances of the Russian mother's appeal to Trump

The appeal of the mother of Russian Alexander Vinnik, who was detained in 2017 by the US special services on charges of money laundering on a large scale, to US President Donald Trump, journalist Tucker Carlson and billionaire Ilon Musk may have a positive result. This was told to "Izvestia" on January 30 by the lawyer of the detainee Arkady Bukh.

"I hope for a very positive result," said Bukh.

He specified that due to the clear policy of the office, relatives of defendants or convicts can appeal to various politicians or congressmen with requests. According to him, this idea is not against any regulations.

He also added that the new member of the White House administration Tucker Carlson is a libertarian and in this regard it will be quite easy to make a request to him.

The attorney noted that with that said, Winnick's chances of getting parole or the lowest possible sentence remain.

"We don't think there's a very good chance of early or parole, although why not try. We are in favor of any option. Although, we hope at sentencing in the summer to get the minimum sentence," Buch said.

Earlier, on October 11, 2024, it was reported that the sentencing of Russian Alexander Vinnik, accused by the United States of money laundering, is scheduled for January 17, 2025.

Prior to that, on September 11, Russian Embassy officials in Washington visited Vinnik's place of detention and assured that they would continue to provide him with the necessary consular and legal assistance.

Prior to that, on August 2, "Izvestia", Arkady Bukh, lawyer of Vinnik, arrested in the United States, explained why he was not included in the exchange. According to him, the Russian was probably not included in the list for prisoner exchange, as the United States rarely releases people before sentencing.

In early May, Buch told Izvestia that his client had pleaded guilty in court in a money laundering case as part of a deal with prosecutors. According to the lawyer, the Russian could face up to 10 years in prison.

The Russian was detained at the request of the US in July 2017, when he was vacationing with his family in Greece. U.S. authorities accuse Vinnik of laundering between $4 billion and $9 billion through the BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange (now defunct) and of distributing malware for the purpose of extortion. Extradition has also been requested by Russia and France. In Russia, he is accused of embezzlement of over 600 thousand rubles and fraud worth 750 million rubles.