Posted on August 22, 2022 at 10:58 AM
Russian Hackers And Crypto Money Launders Extradited To The US
A Russian national, Denis Mihaqlovic Dubnikov, accused of crypto money laundering, has been extradited to the United States from the Netherlands. Following his extradition, he will be facing charges in the District of Oregon, according to the press release from the US Department of Justice (DoJ).
He Laundered Funds Received From Ransom Payments
Dubnikov was charged for his alleged role in an international crypto money laundering scheme in August 2021. Based on the indictment, the defendant and his accomplices were fully aware of the laundering activities that involved ransomware attacks. The cyber attacks targeted companies and individuals in the US and other countries.
Dubnikov and his accomplices are accused of laundering the funds received as ransom payments from victims of Ryuk cyber attacks The ransomware version used in the attack is also connected to the notorious hacker group known as WIZARD SPIDER.
According to the report, Ryuk is said to have breached manufacturing companies, academia, healthcare, tech companies, and government agencies. The DOJ noted that all the participants of the scheme carried out several financial transactions after receiving the ransom payments from the victims. Many of the transactions were done to hide the ownership, location, source, and nature of the transactions to conceal their identity.
Dubnikov Faces 20 Years In Prison
The report noted that Dubnikov alone has laundered more than $400,000 in the proceeds received by Ryuk. Other accomplices involved in the racketeering activities had laundered more than $70 million from their activities.
Dubnikov was arrested in Amsterdam last November and appeared in the federal court in the District of Oregon on August 17. A five-day jury trial has been scheduled to begin on October 4.
If he is found guilty, he will be facing a maximum prison sentence of 20 years in federal prison. This is in addition to a penalty of $500,000 and three years of supervised release.
The Ryuk software was first identified in 2018. It encrypts files and tries to delete system backups. The ransomware gang using this tool has consistently attacked healthcare providers and hospitals in the U.S. during eth peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
