(Newswire.net — December 6, 2019) — Washington – US authorities today have indicted a leading cybercrime group from Russia dubbed as Evil Corp, Reuters reports.
US officials froze the assets of 17 of the group’s associates over charges of digital crime, claiming that they allegedly stole more than $ 100 million from factories around the world.
In the action against “Evil Corp,” officials offered an amount of five million dollars for information that would lead to the arrest of 32-year-old Yakubets Maxim. Yakubets is the alleged leader of the group.
British authorities have described Yakubets as a fan of expensive cars that has a Lamborghini with license plate that reads “thief” in Russian and runs his operations from the basements of Moscow cafes, Reuters reports.
“Yakubets is a true 21st century criminal,” U.S. Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski said. “He’s earned his place on the FBI’s list of the world’s most wanted cyber criminals,” he added.
Evil Corp. is reportedly behind the software known as Dridex, which has damaged many banks and factories since it first appeared in 2011. It was used by hackers to break into bank security networks and make unauthorized financial transfers.
U.S. Treasury officials said Yakubets worked on the side for Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), however they didn’t provide any evidence to support such a claim.
The officials say that the U.S. has lost over $70 million but more countries such as France, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, India and Malaysia are severely affected too.
This is not the first time U.S. authorities indicted the group. A 2015 indictment also charged Yakubets and Turashev with a series of fraud and hacking crimes, but they were never arrested, Reuters reports.