"I would but I'm just a private citizen. I have no knowledge of what the national security people would think etc. Vinnik was involved in cyber security issues, cyber currency issues, I think, that kind of thing. So it seems to me we can do without him here, but what do I know? It's not my case," Scheindlin said, when asked if she would support such an exchange.
Vinnik was detained in Greece in 2017 at the request of the US government. However, Vinnik was initially extradited to France, where he was sentenced to five years in prison and fined $119,433. Vinnik was later returned to Greece before being brought to the US in August of this year.
The Russian citizen is accused of financial crimes by US authorities, including money laundering through his cryptocurrency trading platform BTC-e.
Whelan was sentenced in 2020 to 16 years in Russia for spying. He was left behind in last week’s prisoner swap, which saw Russian businessman Viktor Bout and American basketball player Brittney Griner released.