Accused Russian money launderer Alexander Vinnik is being released from US custody in exchange for Marc Fogel, a Trump administration source told CNN Wednesday. Vinnik is accused of running a multibillion-dollar cryptocurrency exchange that allegedly did business with drug dealers and identity thieves. Vinnik was arrested in 2017 in Greece and subsequently extradited to France, where he was sentenced to five years in prison in 2020 for money laundering. He was extradited from France to the United States in 2022. According to the source, Vinnik has to forfeit money seized by the US government as part of the exchange. The release of Fogel in exchange for Vinnik comes as President Donald Trump has renewed his focus on trying to quickly end the war in Ukraine. On Tuesday, he suggested that the release of Fogel was a "good faith" gesture by the Russians. On Wednesday, Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin about war and said negotiations to end it will begin "immediately." Fogel's release was followed by the release of another American, this time from Belarus, on Wednesday. Trump had teased the release of another American on Tuesday. The American, who was not named out of a request for privacy, was part of a group of three political prisoners who were freed Wednesday. The other two included Andrey Kuznechyk, who worked for the US-backed Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and Alena Maushuk, according to the administration. The American was detained in September 2024 and is the second American released from Belarus under the Trump administration. Anastassia Nuhfer had been detained in December 2024 and was released in January. "This was a special operation where we just crossed into the Belarusian frontier, went into Minsk to meet with Belarusian counterparts, who brought these three detainees to us. They handed them over to our custody. They were handed over to us, and we brought them back out through Lithuania," Chris Smith, a deputy assistant secretary of state for European affairs who handles the Belarus portfolio, told CNN's Dana Bash on Inside Politics. Smith claimed that this "was a unilateral gesture by the Lukashenko authorities," saying they are looking to improve ties with the US. Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko, a Putin ally, "didn't get anything for this exchange," he said. In the case of the Fogel-Vinnik exchange, Vinnik's lawyers had lobbied for his release as part of prisoner exchanges in the past and the Biden administration had floated his name as part of an effort to free Americans like Paul Whelan. On Wednesday, a lawyer for Vinnik expressed happiness at his release, saying, "it is a real relief for my client and his family." "I have met many people in the US to push for him to be included in the next exchange/swap. I have met Marc Fogel's attorneys who were very helpful," Frédéric Bélot said in a statement to CNN. As with many prisoner swaps, not everyone across the US government agreed on releasing Vinnik. "Releasing cyber criminals is likely to further embolden those involved in ransomware and related transnational crimes," one US law enforcement official told CNN. The cryptocurrency exchange tied to Vinnik "processed over $9 billion-worth of transactions," the official said. "Vinnik would be the latest high level Russian cyber criminal traded to Russia, following the release of Roman Seleznev and Vladislav Klyushinin August 2024," the official added, referring to two of the people released from US custody in the prisoner swap involving Americans Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan. The New York Times first reported that Vinnik was being released. A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment when asked about Vinnik's status in the US. Trump and members of his administration have been highly critical of prisoner swaps in the past. Both Washington and Moscow have revealed few details about the agreement that led to Fogel's release on Tuesday. A White House statement announcing his return after more than three years in Russian detention only referenced an "exchange." Trump and top national security officials declined to offer specifics when repeatedly pressed on the matter on Tuesday evening. On Wednesday, the Kremlin said a Russian citizen was released as part of an exchange involving Fogel and will return to Russia soon, but would not reveal the person's identity. Discussions between Moscow and Washington had increased in recent days, spokesperson Dmitry Peskov added, leading to the release of Fogel and "one of the citizens of the Russian Federation" who is "currently being held in detention in the United States." Vinnik is one of multiple accused Russian cybercriminals who have been extradited to the US in recent years and subsequently floated in prisoner swap discussions with the Kremlin. In Vinnik's case and others, Russian diplomats have relentlessly fought the detainee's extradition to the US. When those efforts failed, Russian embassies and consulates in the US have paid close attention to the alleged cybercriminals' trials because they are potential bargaining chips. On Wednesday, the US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff – who was part of the discussions – told CNN that he was approached and told "there might be an opportunity to get Mark Fogel" out of Russia "several days ago." "People approached us, me in this case, and said that there might be an opportunity to get Mark Fogel out," Witkoff added. He then spoke to Trump, the National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and CIA Director John Ratcliffe. "The President directed me to go over there and complete it if we could," said Witkoff. He also pointed to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as being "instrumental" toward Fogel's release. "He was encouraging and pushing and looking for the right result, and it was helpful. It really was," Witkoff said. Fogel arrived at the White House late Tuesday draped in an American flag and was greeted by Trump, who said it was "an honor to have played a small role" in his release. A senior White House official had told CNN that Fogel's release would not play out as a direct one-for-one exchange with a Russian held in the US. "I think you will see the president give consideration if there are some nonviolent people... But you will not see a one-for-one thing happening at the same time," Adam Boehler, Trump's special envoy for hostage affairs, said Tuesday. The deal to release Fogel, who was designated as wrongfully detained by the US State Department, was negotiated by Trump, Witkoff, "and the President's advisers," according to a statement from Waltz. In an extraordinary move, Witkoff had personally gone to Russia to bring back Fogel, Waltz's statement indicated. There has been no known high-level US travel to Russia since the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022. Speaking alongside Boehler, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told CNN that while Fogel's release is not linked to ending Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, he thinks it's a "good sign" that Russia was willing to cooperate. Speaking about the war, he said: "We don't just want to see it end. We want to see it end in a way that's sustainable," he said. Fogel will journey to San Antonio, Texas to participate in the US government readjustment program on Wednesday, an attorney for Fogel told CNN, to help them acclimate after being imprisoned abroad. Wrongful detainees returning to the US are given the option to take part in PISA, which stands for Post Isolation Support Activities. A former senior State Department official described the program as helpful for former detainees "to tell (their) story." Everything "will be new" and "surreal" for Fogel as he adjusts back to life in the US, according to Paul Whelan, an American wrongly held in Russia for more than five years until he was freed in a prisoner exchange last year. "He's waking up in the first world after spending three and a half in the third world. Everything will be new to him. Everything familiar will be a just a surreal experience," he told CNN on Wednesday. The ex-marine also offered a rare insight into the small group of Americans formerly held by governments and groups abroad who "stay in touch" to support one another. "If someone needs to chat about what they're going through, maybe they need some sort of help. We get together and do that," said Whelan. "It's an exclusive club, it's sort of like the club of presidents." — CNN
