A jury in Boston, USA, found Russian Vladislav Klyushin guilty of conspiracy, wire fraud and securities fraud, reports Reuters. Klyushin is known for developing a media monitoring system for the Russian authorities.
According to the prosecution, the Russian businessman and his accomplices hacked computer networks in the United States and thus learned secret information about various companies, after which they made money trading shares. In total, they managed to earn about $ 90 million in this way.
Klyushin was detained in March 2021 in Switzerland at the request of the US authorities, after which he was extradited to the United States. Of the five Russian citizens suspected in this case, he is the only one so far who has been arrested. Among the defendants is, in particular, former Russian military intelligence officer Ivan Yermakov, whom US authorities suspect of involvement in hacker attacks to interfere in the US presidential election in 2016, as well as attacks on anti-doping agencies.
Klyushin owns the Moscow-based information technology company M-13, which developed the Katyusha system for monitoring media and social networks. This system has been reportedly used by the Kremlin and law enforcement agencies since at least 2016. Ermakov also worked in the M-13 company.