Trump Frees Russian Crypto Exchange Owner in Prisoner Swap for US Teacher

Imprisoned Russian cryptocurrency exchange owner Alexander Vinnik has been freed as part of President Donald Trump's prisoner exchange for American schoolteacher Marc Fogel.

On Tuesday, Trump stated, "To me he looks damned good," as he welcomed Fogel, who landed at Joint Base Andrews.

The 63-year-old Pittsburgh native had been working as a teacher at the Anglo-American School of Moscow before his arrest. He previously served as a diplomat at the US embassy in Moscow and was serving a 14-year sentence for drug smuggling after being caught at a Moscow airport with marijuana vape pods.

Vinnik, who operated the cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e, was arrested in 2017 in Greece and extradited to France, where he was sentenced to five years in prison in 202 for money laundering. Two years later he was extradited to the US. As part of the deal, the US seized over $100 million from him for his return.

He is also believed to be the holder of one of the largest crypto wallets that reportedly contains 80,000 BTC.

Trump characterized Fogel's release as a "show of good faith" from the Russians and suggested that it "could be a big important part" of ending Russia's war in Ukraine.

"We were treated very nicely by Russia," he said. "Actually, I hope that's the beginning of a relationship where we can end that war and millions of people can stop being killed."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that while such agreements can foster trust between nations, they were unlikely to be a "turning point" in US-Russia relations.

Trump defended the prisoner swap as "very fair, very reasonable," adding, "somebody else is being released tomorrow that you will know of."

Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, later revealed that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman played a key role in securing Fogel’s release. "Behind the scenes, he was encouraging, pushing, and looking for the right result," Witkoff said. "He was helpful, he really was."

Fogel described himself as, "The luckiest man on Earth right now," upon his release. "I'm a middle-class schoolteacher who's now in a dream world," he added.

His wife Jane and sons Ethan and Sam expressed relief, stating, "This has been the darkest and most painful period of our lives, but today, we begin to heal."

Furthermore, his legal team criticized what they called the "bureaucratic inaction" of the Biden administration while crediting Trump for his release. "President Trump secured Marc's release in just a few weeks, wasting no time in taking decisive action to bring Marc home," they said in a statement.

The US government did not classify Fogel as wrongfully detained until December 2024, despite his imprisonment beginning in 2022 and repeated attempts to urge the Biden administration to prioritize his case from his family.