Reports are developing that in August U.S. authorities seized approximately $2.3 million in crypto from a Russian Hacker. The reports are from a court document that became public on Tuesday.
Hacker Associated with REVil Gang
The court document reveals the hacker, Aleksandr Sikerin, accumulated the funds from strategic ransomware attacks. The report claims Sikerin is part of an infamous ransomware organization REvil also known as Sodinokibi.
The last known address of Sikerin is St. Petersburg, Russia. Sikerin is facing charges of different counts of intrigue and illegal tax avoidance.
The FBI conducted the investigation, was able to get into Sikerin’s wallet. It was from there that they discovered the accused used ransomware viruses to access databases of American infrastructure facilities.
According to the court document, the Russian hacker Sikerin held 39.8913852 Bitcoin in his wallet. With the current rate, that is around $2.3 million. The wallet is based on the crypto exchange Exodus, which is cooperating with the FBI. The seized wallet is currently held at a local agency in Dallas.
Seize of the $2.3 million in crypto is one of the largest the FBI has made against the Sodinokibi gang. The bureau is hopeful that this latest raid is getting them closer to apprehending the entire gang.
REvil’s Active Crimes
The gang has on many occasions been associated with ransomware attacks on U.S. businesses. Sodinokibi’s first print in cyberattacks was in April 2019. They have reportedly amassed over $200 million in digital currency.
A Russian programmer Yevgeniy Polyanin, also linked to the REvil gang, had $6 million seized from him by the U.S. authorities in November. Another 22-year old Ukrainian, Yaroslav Vasinksyi, was also arrested while entering Poland. The authorities accused Vasinksyi of involvement in ransomware organization REvil’s July assault against Florida-based IT firm Kaseya. The attack reportedly affected over 1500 customers.
The U.S. is keen on apprehending cybercriminals especially those associated with crypto crimes. The timing may be due to increased pressure for crypto regulations.
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