Russian extradited to U.S. to face cyber crime charges

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[1/2] Russian and U.S. state flags fly near a factory in Vsevolozhsk, Leningrad Region, Russia March 27, 2019. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov

Oct 28 (Reuters) - A Russian national appeared in a U.S. federal court on Thursday after he was extradited from South Korea to Ohio to face charges for his alleged role in a cybercriminal organization, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

Vladimir Dunaev, 38, was a member of a cybercriminal organization that deployed a computer banking trojan and ransomware suite of malware known as "Trickbot", the Justice Department said.

"Trickbot attacked businesses and victims across the globe and infected millions of computers for theft and ransom, including networks of schools, banks, municipal governments, and companies in the health care, energy, and agriculture sectors," Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said.

The indictment alleges that beginning in November 2015, and continuing through August 2020, Dunaev and others stole money, confidential information, and damaged computer systems from unsuspecting victims, including individuals, financial institutions, school districts, utility companies, government entities, and private businesses.

They allegedly used a network of co-conspirators and freelance computer programmers, known as the Trickbot Group, to create, deploy, and manage the Trickbot malware, which infected millions of computer systems worldwide, the DOJ added.

Dunaev allegedly performed a variety of developer functions in support of the Trickbot malware, including managing the malware's execution, developing browser modifications and helping to conceal the malware from detection by security software.

The defendants used stolen login credentials and other personal information to gain access to online bank accounts, execute unauthorized electronic funds transfers and launder money through U.S. and foreign beneficiary accounts, according to the indictment.

Dunaev was extradited from South Korea on Oct. 20. He is charged with conspiracy to commit computer fraud and aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and multiple counts of wire fraud, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft.

A representative of Dunaev could not immediately be contacted.

Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru Editing by Alistair Bell

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Thomson Reuters

Kanishka Singh is a breaking news reporter for Reuters in Washington DC, who primarily covers US politics and national affairs in his current role. His past breaking news coverage has spanned across a range of topics like the Black Lives Matter movement; the US elections; the 2021 Capitol riots and their follow up probes; the Brexit deal; US-China trade tensions; the NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan; the COVID-19 pandemic; and a 2019 Supreme Court verdict on a religious dispute site in his native India.

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