The founder of Group-IB, Ilya Sachkov, who is now in jail on charges of treason, gave advice on how to return IT people who left the country to Russia. He posted a post on his Telegram channel.
In a letter from the pre-trial detention center, Sachkov noted that the Russians left because of the need for security, and if it is satisfied, they will return for "self-realization." According to him, only in solving complex problems a person of intellectual labor "can find true happiness." Also in the text, Sachkov expresses joy that the state is “taking the right steps” to return the specialists who left the country.
“And I am glad that the state is taking the right steps in this direction, such as deferment from the army, “booking” and preferential mortgage terms. But this is not enough. We need to make it clear that they and their loved ones will be safe, and then provide them with the opportunity to create and create, including new Russian technologies that are so needed now.”
Sachkov was arrested at the end of September 2021, he was charged with treason on suspicion of collaborating with the intelligence of foreign states. He himself does not admit guilt. According to Bloomberg, the criminal case is likely related to his intention to move most of the business outside the Russian Federation. In April 2021, Sachkov said in an interview with Forbes that Group-IB was going to place shares on one of the foreign exchanges. And in 2020, he claimed that the company plans for the first time to receive half of its revenue outside the countries of the former USSR. In November 2021, Sachkov asked Putin to place him under house arrest during the investigation.
The Insider found out that Sachkov appeared in the documents of the FBI, where he is mentioned in connection with the investigation of the US authorities against Russian hackers. The name of the head of Group-IB surfaced in the documents of the US Department of Justice, which were made public in 2020 after the initiation of a case against former employee of the corporation Nikita Kislitsin, whom the US authorities accuse of cybercrime.