Kacper Pempel/Reuters
- The US Treasury Department on Thursday brought sanctions against Evil Corp., a Moscow-based cybercriminal group, for its role in using malware to steal more than $100 million from banks and financial institutions.
- The Justice Department also brought hacking and fraud charges against two Russians accused of working for Evil Corp.
- The alleged hackers, Maksim Yakubets and Igor Turashev, are charged with conspiracy, computer hacking, bank fraud, and wire fraud connected to the Bugat malware conspiracy, which resulted in the theft of millions of dollars in the US.
- Yakubets is alleged to have ties to Russian intelligence and is accused of leading Evil Corp., while Turashev is believed to be an administrator for the group.
- Yakubets and Turashev are still at large, and investigators are offering a $5 million reward for information on their whereabouts, the highest reward for the arrest and conviction of a cybercriminal to date.
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The Justice Department on Thursday indicted two alleged Russian hackers who work for a Russian-backed cybercriminal group called Evil Corp.
Maksim Yakubets is accused of being involved in international computer hacking and bank fraud schemes spanning from May 2009 to the present. He is also alleged to have ties to Russian intelligence.
Igor Turashev was indicted for his alleged role in the "Bugat" malware conspiracy. According to the FBI, Bugat is a "multifunction malware package that automates the theft of confidential personal and financial information ... from infected computers through the use of keystroke logging and web injects."
The State Department, in conjunction with the FBI, offered a reward of up to $5 million for information on both men's whereabouts. That figure is the highest reward for the arrest and conviction of an alleged cybercriminal to date.
The Treasury Department also sanctioned Evil Corp. on Thursday for its role in using malware to steal more than $100 million from banks and financial institutions.
"Maksim Yakubets allegedly has engaged in a decade-long cybercrime spree that deployed two of the most damaging pieces of financial malware ever used and resulted in tens of millions of dollars of losses to victims worldwide," Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski said in a press release.
"For over a decade, Maksim Yakubets and Igor Turashev led one of the most sophisticated transnational cybercrime syndicates in the world," said US Attorney Scott Brady, who represents the Western District of Pennsylvania, which was particularly hard hit by the Bugat malware.
A federal grand jury in Pittsburgh brought a 10-count indictment against Yakubets and Turashev. The document charged the two Russians with conspiracy, computer hacking, bank fraud, and wire fraud in connection with Bugat.
The indictment also accused Yakubets and Turashev of using individuals, known as "money mules," to take their stolen funds and smuggle them overseas.
Ultimately, the indictment said, the two defendants were able to steal "millions of dollars" and the scheme was active as recently as March of this year.