The United States will release Russian Alexander Vinnik, a suspected cybercrime kingpin, as part of an exchange with Russia that freed Marc Fogel, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.
Vinnik operated BTC-e, once one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges. He was arrested in 2017 and detained at Washington's request on suspicion of laundering $4 billion through the exchange. In May, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and faced 20 years in prison.
Vinnik has to forfeit more than $100 million to the US government, and he is currently in northern California awaiting transportation back to Russia, a US official told Reuters.
The Kremlin said the deal - the first it has struck with the new administration of President Donald Trump - could help build trust between the two countries.
But it played down Trump's suggestion that the agreement could make a significant contribution towards ending the Russia-Ukraine war, which he has pledged to bring to a swift conclusion.
Trump had said that the deal "could be a big important part" of ending the three-year-old war in Ukraine.
Kremlin-Washington relations
Asked about that comment, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said any agreement on releasing prisoners was the result of "very, very meticulous negotiating work".
"Of course, such agreements are hardly capable of becoming a breakthrough moment but at the same time, bit by bit, these are steps to build mutual trust, which is now at its lowest point," he added.
The New York Times report comes after Peskov said that the Kremlin would not identify the Russian citizen until after his return to Russia later this week.
“As we previously reported, there has recently been intensified work through the relevant agencies, with contacts taking place,” Peskov told Russian media. “As a result of these efforts, Fogel has been released, along with a Russian citizen who is currently being held in a US prison."
He added that he expected the citizen, whom he did not name, to be released to Russia "in the coming days."
Witkoff personally collected Fogel
US President Donald Trump said that he expected at least one other American imprisoned in Russia to be released, though he did not say who.
In contrast to the New York Times report, US administration officials are skeptical that Fogel's release would lead to a direct one-to-one prisoner swap with Russia.
“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,” special envoy for hostage affairs Adam Boehler said Tuesday.
Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff told CNN that he was approached with the opportunity to get Fogel out of Russia several days ago
“People approached us, me in this case, and said that there might be an opportunity to get Marc Fogel out,” Witkoff said. “The President directed me to go over there and complete it if we could."
"We were treated very nicely by Russia. Actually, I hope that's the beginning of a relationship where we can end that (Ukraine) war and millions of people can stop being killed," Trump said on Tuesday.
Peskov declined to comment on the possibility of an additional release.
Witkoff personally went to collect him from Russia, marking the first known high-level American travel to the country since the start of the Ukraine-Russia war in 2022.
Fox News reported that Witkoff had a three-and-a-half hour meeting with Putin. Peskov said he had "nothing to say" on that.
Asked what the United States gave up in exchange for Fogel, Trump told reporters earlier, "Not much."
Fogel, a teacher from Pennsylvania who was residing in Moscow at the time of his arrest, was sentenced in 2022 to 14 years in Russian prison for drug trafficking. His lawyer claimed it was prescribed to him in the US for chronic pain.
After Fogel's release, three prisoners, including one American citizen, were released from Prison in Belarus,
Reuters contributed to this report.