Ukraine’s Cyberpolice Extradited Crypto Criminal from FBI’s Global Wanted List to the US
The Cyberpolice Department of the National Police of Ukraine announced the detention in Kyiv of a 33-year-old foreigner wanted by the United States Federal Bureau of Examination (FBI) for massive cyber attacks. According to the police, the detainee was one of the key members of a global hacker group that caused more than UAH 3 billion ($71.7 million at the time of composing) in losses to commercial businesses in the US, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Norway. The hackers utilized self-created malware, including ransomware, to acquire access to the computer systems of worldwide companies, encrypt their data, and then demanded a ransom in cryptocurrencies. The payments were made to drop wallets managed by the criminals. The global operation, launched in November 2023 with the involvement of law enforcement officers from Ukraine, the United States, the EU, Europol, and Eurojust, included more than 80 searches in Ukraine. In particular, a Ukrainian man suspected of hacking and illegal mining was recently apprehended in Zaporizhzhia. Later, in Sumy, cyber police apprehended a resident of the Kyiv area in a case of a fake crypto exchange.
