Panev remained an active member of LockBit ransomware's core team until February 2024, when an international law enforcement operation led by the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) and the FBI severely disrupted the cybercrime organization. Panev has been involved with LockBit ransomware since its inception in 2019, helping operators and affiliates attack over 2,500 entities across 120 countries and extracting ransom payments of over $500,000,000. The U.S. Department of State's Transnational Organized Crime (TOC) Rewards Program offers $10 million for information leading to the identification and location of other core team members of LockBit, while $5 million is given for tips on affiliates. Panev's arrest, indictment, and now extradition follow indictments against other LockBit members, including its leader Dmitry Yuryevich Khoroshev ("LockBitSupp"), who is currently wanted with a $10M reward. Other prominent LockBit members who have been charged in the U.S. include Mikhail Vasiliev (awaiting sentencing), Ruslan Astamirov (awaiting sentencing), Artur Sungatov (wanted), Ivan Kondratyev (wanted), and Mikhail Matveev (wanted). "Panev acted as a developer of the LockBit ransomware group from its inception in or around 2019 through at least February 2024," reads the U.S. DoJ announcement. At the same time, Matveev has also had a role in multiple other ransomware variants apart from LockBit and has a $10M bounty reward for tips leading to his arrest. A dual Russian-Israeli national, suspected of being a key developer for the LockBit ransomware operation, has been extradited to the United States to face charges. In December, the U.S. Department of Justice charged Panev, accusing him of developing LockBit's ransomware encryptors and StealBit. This included credentials for LockBit's internal control panel and a repository containing source code for LockBit encryptors and the gang's custom data theft tool, StealBit.
This Cyber News was published on www.bleepingcomputer.com. Publication date: Fri, 14 Mar 2025 14:25:06 +0000