The Biden administration has offered to swap WNBA star Brittney Griner for convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout, Forbes reports.
Bout is currently serving a 25-year sentence in a Florida prison. According to a source close to the situation, negotiations are in the early stages.
An exchange between Griner-Bout trade was first reported on May 13 by Tass, Russia’s state-owned news agency
“Currently, talks are underway on exchanging Bout for Griner,” Tass reported, citing “a source in the Public Monitoring Commission.” Also, Gazeta.Ru, another Moscow-based news outlet, reported earlier that a Griner-Bout swap was being worked out.
As EBONY previously reported, a Russian court extended Brittney Griner’s pre-trial detention by one month in May.
Alexander Boykov, Griner’s attorney, said that the short extension is an indication that her case would head to trial soon.
Griner, a seven-time WNBA All-Star who won the 2014 WNBA championship with the Phoenix Mercury, plays off-season basketball in Russia with UMMC Ekaterinburg.
She’s been in custody for three months.