On Tuesday, Russian citizen Denis Mihaqlovic Dubnikov pleaded guilty to laundering money for the notorious Ryuk ransomware group for over three years. In November 2021, Dubnikov was arrested in Amsterdam and extradited to the United States in August 2022. He was then brought to a U.S. federal court in Portland. From August 2018 to August 2021, Dubnikov and 13 other accomplices were involved in money laundering activities related to Ryuk ransomware attacks on individuals and organizations in the United States and worldwide. The criminals used various financial transactions, including international ones, to hide the origin, location, and identity of those who received the ransom payments. In July 2019, a U.S. company paid a 250 Bitcoin Ryuk ransom after a ransomware attack. On or about July 11, 2019, in Moscow, Russia, Dubnikov accepted 35 Bitcoin from a co-conspirator in exchange for approximately $400,000. He then converted the Bitcoin to Tether and sent it to a second co-conspirator, who eventually exchanged it for Chinese Renminbi. If found guilty, Dubnikov could face up to 20 years of federal imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $500,000.
This Cyber News was published on www.bleepingcomputer.com. Publication date: Tue, 07 Feb 2023 18:58:02 +0000