The Kremlin on Wednesday said an unnamed Russian citizen will be freed from U.S. custody as part of the deal to free American teacher Marc Fogel, who returned home after three years in Russian captivity on Wednesday.
The White House said the deal also included freeing another American held in Russia.
Fogel, now 63 years old, was detained by Russian customs agents for possessing half an ounce of medical marijuana in 2021. Even though he had a prescription for the substance, he was still convicted of smuggling drugs and sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Fogel returned to the United States on Tuesday and received a welcome at the White House, where he declared himself “the luckiest man on Earth right now.”
“I want you to know that I’m not a hero in this at all. President Trump is a hero. These men who came from the diplomatic service are heroes. The senators and representatives who passed legislation in my honor to get me home are the heroes. I’m in awe of what they all did,” Fogel said.
“President Trump secured Marc’s release in just a few weeks, wasting no time in taking decisive action to bring Marc home,” Fogel’s legal team said in a statement on Tuesday night.
The administration of President Joe Biden inexplicably ignored Fogel’s plight despite repeated pleas from his family, and did not even classify Fogel as wrongfully detained until he had been in prison for two years. Fogel was left out of prisoner exchange deals struck by the Biden administration in 2022 and 2024.
President Donald Trump described Fogel’s return as a “show of good faith” by the Russians, and said he hoped it was “the beginning of a relationship where we can end that war (in Ukraine) and millions of people can stop being killed.”
The Kremlin’s only immediate comment on Fogel’s release was to say the deal for his freedom included the United States releasing an imprisoned Russian citizen.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday the identity of the freed Russian citizen would be made public when they reach Russian soil. Prisoners are more commonly identified shortly before their release.
“Recently, work has been intensified through the relevant agencies, there have been contacts. And these contacts have led to the release of Fogel, as well as one of the citizens of the Russian Federation, who is currently being held in custody in the United States. This citizen of the Russian Federation will also be returned to Russia in the coming days,” Peskov said.
Peskov refused to confirm a guess from reporters that the Russian in question is Alexander Vinnik, a cryptocurrency criminal extradited from Greece to the United States in 2017.
Vinnik pled guilty to some of the money laundering charges against him in May 2024, in a plea deal designed to put him behind bars for less than 10 years. He otherwise might have faced life in prison, having allegedly laundered some $4 billion through his BTC-e exchange.
Prosecutors described Vinnik’s crypto operation as the “nexus of several criminal enterprises,” some of which involved extorting bitcoin from victims with ransomware attacks and then using Vinnik’s services to turn the ransom payments into clean conventional currency. Drug dealers also allegedly used the exchange to launder their profits.
Russian media sources on Wednesday seemed confident that Vinnik would be the prisoner traded for Fogel’s freedom.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy for Hostages Adam Boehler said on Tuesday that a second American would be released by Russia on Wednesday as part of the deal. Rubio and Boehler did not identify this person.
Boehler added his hope that “a lot more” people would come home soon, because President Trump “has made it a priority to get all Americans home.” At least nine more Americans are currently imprisoned in Russia.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday that President Putin is ready to talk with President Trump.
“Regarding the direct question about communication, President Trump has repeatedly affirmed his readiness to make phone calls and meet in person. When asked about his reaction to such statements from the U.S. leader, President Putin indicated that he is also open to this,” Lavrov said.
“As you might expect, the decision will ultimately be made by the presidents themselves. I have no doubt that the relevant information will be provided,” he added.
Lavrov sarcastically hinted that the Europeans might try to undermine bilateral talks between Trump and Putin, because they do not wish to be left out of negotiations over the Ukraine war – and some of those powers might want the Ukraine war to continue.
“There are those who think that any communication between Moscow and Washington kind of infringe on their interests,” Lavrov said.
