Ukrainian police have arrested a 35-year-old man accused of orchestrating a large-scale cryptojacking scheme that exploited the servers of an international hosting company to mine cryptocurrency.
According to a June 4 statement from Ukraine’s National Police cyber unit, the suspect had been infiltrating online systems since at least 2018, illegally accessing over 5,000 customer accounts.
The accused, a resident of the Poltava region, allegedly scanned the security infrastructure of multiple foreign companies to identify weaknesses. After breaching their systems, he is said to have used the hosting company’s servers—designed for legitimate website and platform operations—to deploy unauthorized virtual machines and crypto mining software.
This method, known as cryptojacking, diverts computing power for illicit mining operations without the owner’s knowledge or consent.
Authorities estimate that the resource theft caused damages exceeding 185 million Ukrainian hryvnias, or around $4.4 million. The hosting company, whose identity has not been disclosed, suffered substantial financial and operational strain due to the unauthorized mining.
Police Seize Equipment, Uncover Hacking Tools
During a search of the suspect’s residence, Ukrainian law enforcement recovered a trove of evidence linking him to the cybercrime operation. Seized items included computers, mobile phones, bank cards, and documents that confirmed his active participation in hacker forums.
Officials said the devices contained email credentials used to launch attacks, multiple cryptocurrency wallets, and a range of software tools tailored for setting up and managing mining rigs. Additionally, remote access tools and programs used to control compromised systems were discovered on his equipment.
The investigation also revealed that the suspect had been moving frequently across several Ukrainian regions—including Odesa, Zaporizhia, and Dnipropetrovsk—in an attempt to evade law enforcement.
Growing Threat of Cryptojacking
The suspect now faces charges under Ukrainian law for unauthorized interference with electronic communication networks, a serious offense that could result in a prison term of up to 15 years. The court may also impose restrictions on the accused’s ability to work in IT, communications, or other fields involving access to sensitive electronic systems for up to three years.
This case adds to a growing list of cryptojacking incidents worldwide. In April last year, a U.S. citizen was charged with wire fraud and money laundering after allegedly misusing cloud computing services to mine $970,000 worth of cryptocurrency.
As crypto adoption rises, so too does the sophistication—and scale—of such illicit operations.
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