A French judge has sentenced the founder of the now-defunct BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange to five years in prison and a fine of €100,000 for laundering funds for cybercriminals, including ransomware gangs, as reported by ZDnet.
Alexander Vinnik, 41, a Russian national, dodged a bigger sentence after French prosecutors failed to prove that the BTC-e founder was directly involved in the creation and the distribution of Locky, a ransomware strain that was active in 2016 and 2017.
“Mr. Vinnik, the court acquitted you of the offenses relating to the cyber-attacks linked to Locky, as well as the offenses of extortion and association to criminal activities, but finds you guilty of organized money laundering,” the judge said when reading the sentence.
