Trump Facilitates Prisoner Swap: Russian Launderer Freed for American Teacher

President Donald Trump has reportedly engaged in a prisoner swap with Russia, securing the release of American teacher Marc Fogel in exchange for the handover of Russian citizen Alexander Vinnik. According to anonymous White House officials, the swap was facilitated by the Trump administration, with Vinnik, a convicted money launderer, being transferred to Russia while Fogel returned to the United States.

Vinnik, a computer scientist, was convicted in 2020 by a French court for laundering money through the crypto exchange BTC-e, which he founded in 2011. He was sentenced to five years in prison and later pleaded guilty to similar charges in a federal court in San Francisco. The report suggests that Vinnik failed to register BTC-e as a money service business in the US, despite having US customers.

Upon his return to the US, Fogel expressed gratitude for his release, stating, "I want you to know that I am not a hero in this at all. And President Trump is a hero." This prisoner swap comes after a similar exchange in 2022, when then-President Joe Biden secured the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner from Russia in exchange for Viktor Bout, an arms dealer known as "The Merchant of Death."