Ransomware Hacker to Face Trial Over $400,000 Money Laundering

A 29-year-old Russian citizen Denis Mihaqlovic Dubnikov has been repatriated to the United States from the Netherlands after he was found to be linked to a ransomware hack that happened two years ago. 

According to the news release by the U.S Department of Justice, Denis Mihaqlovic Dubnikovn made his first appearance in the federal court for the District of Oregon on Wednesday 17th August. Following the verdict from the court, a five-day trial is scheduled to commence on October 4th. 

During his initial hearing in court, Denis pleaded not guilty to the charges of cryptocurrency laundering allegations laid against him. If found guilty and convicted, the Russian hacker is likely to serve a 20-year sentence.

Although not the direct perpetrators of the Ransomware attack, Denis and his accomplices laundered the funds hijacked from the Ryuk malware attack which affected many organizations and individuals.

The attack cut across the United States and many other nations. Cumulatively, the funds laundered from the users were summed to be about $70 billion in crypto (Bitcoin) and fiat currency. Specifically, Denis laundered almost $400,000 of the total loot. 

Ryuk is a type of ransomware that encrypts files and attempts to delete any system backups on a computer or network. To carry out the hack, files that belonged to the affected entities were encrypted and held hostage until their owners paid a ransom for their release. 

The victims of the attack were instructed by the Ryuk actors to pay in bitcoin and immediately provided a wallet address where the ransom was paid into. The ransom was sent as both BTC and fiat to hide the source of the funds.

Cybertheft Actors Get Punished by Watchdogs

While awaiting his trial, Denis has been released from custody with several conditions laid out for him. As part of the conditions set by the U.S Department of Justice, all activities on his computer will be monitored till further notice. So far, the names of the other 12 bad actors have been redacted in the indictment.

Regulatory watchdogs are putting more work and giving high priority to nabbing money laundering schemers. Only a few days ago was Alexey Pertsev, a developer arrested by the Dutch authorities for his connection to the money laundering attack perpetrated through crypto lender Tornado Cash.

Denis’ arraignment is one of the series of charges the DoJ has brought on crypto criminals this year. One of the most publicized is that involving a Coinbase employee who allegedly abused securities laws.