The Associated Press (AP) reported on Monday that the Spanish police have arrested a cybercrime gang of Russian and Ukrainian citizens. Where this group is allegedly involved in the theft of more than $ 1.24 Billion from financial institutions around the world, then convert their ill-gotten profit to Bitcoin (BTC).
According to statements issued by the Spanish and Europol police, the gang leader, a Ukrainian citizen named "Denis K." and three suspected accomplices from Rusiadan and Ukraine, have been identified and arrested in the Spanish city of Alicante. Over a 5-year period, the criminals are reported to have committed the theft of about 1 billion euros ($ 1.24 billion) from financial institutions around the world.
Cybercrime Gangs Target 100 Financial Institutions
cybercrime gang
The criminals allegedly involved in cyber crime, targeting more than 100 financial institutions and sometimes managed to escape with steal about 10 million euros in every theft action. As alleged by the authorities, almost all Russian banks are affected and about 50 of them lose money in the attack.
Gangs gain access to the internal banking network by sending phishing emails by attaching malicious malware to bank officials. The malware allegedly gives actors a control over the affected hardware, enabling them to compromise with ATMs and use machines to attract an unlimited amount of money.
The AP reported that the cyber criminals did not spend the money they earned incorrectly, but instead chose to exchange it with bitcoin. Once converted, the cryptocurrency is used as a money laundering tool to purchase different assets, including real estate and vehicles in Spain.
In February 2018, Thai police arrested a Russian named Sergey Medvedev. The man is said to be number two in the international cybercrime organization and administrator of the Dark Infraud website. This portal is used to sell stolen credit cards, identity and government documents obtained illegally. At the time of the arrest, Medvedev had more than 100,000 Bitcoin (BTC), approximately equal to $ 820 million at the time.