Since December, Justice Department officials have sought Panev’s extradition after a criminal complaint was unsealed last year accusing him of acting as a developer of the LockBit ransomware from 2019 to at least February 2024. The dual Russian-Israeli national — 51-year-old Rostislav Panev — was arrested in Israel in August 2024 on U.S. charges related to dozens of LockBit ransomware attacks. “Court documents further indicate that, between June 2022 and February 2024, the primary LockBit administrator made a series of transfers of cryptocurrency, laundered through one or more illicit cryptocurrency mixing services, of approximately $10,000 per month to a cryptocurrency wallet owned by Panev. Panev and others “grew LockBit into what was, at times, the most active and destructive ransomware group in the world,” prosecutors said, explaining that the gang attacked more than 2,500 victims in 120 countries. The takedown of the LockBit ransomware gang was led by the U.K. National Crime Agency (NCA) in February 2024 and involved the seizure of the gang’s front-facing websites. Panev is accused of sending direct messages to LockBit’s suspected primary administrator, Dimitry Yuryevich Khoroshev, known widely among cybercriminals as the gang’s frontman LockBitSupp. Panev is accused of sending direct messages to LockBit’s suspected primary administrator, Dimitry Yuryevich Khoroshev, known widely among cybercriminals as the gang’s frontman LockBitSupp. “Rostislav Panev’s extradition to the District of New Jersey makes it clear: if you are a member of the LockBit ransomware conspiracy, the United States will find you and bring you to justice,” said U.S. Attorney John Giordano. U.S. law enforcement agencies have urged all past victims of LockBit to contact them because a decryptor for the ransomware has been developed thanks to the 2024 operation. LockBit members earned at least $500 million in ransoms until the group was disrupted in an international law enforcement operation last February. Mikhail Vasiliev and Ruslan Astamirov pleaded guilty last year to conducting ransomware attacks on behalf of LockBit. An alleged developer behind the LockBit ransomware was extradited from Israel on Thursday, according to the Justice Department. The State Department also issued $10 million rewards for information on the whereabouts of Matveev and anyone else who may have been involved in LockBit. According to the DOJ, the group was split between affiliates who launched attacks and extorted victims while developers like Panev designed the code of the malware and maintained the infrastructure of the operation.
This Cyber News was published on therecord.media. Publication date: Fri, 14 Mar 2025 15:45:20 +0000