A 29yr old Russian man named Denis Dubnikov has be extradited to the US by Dutch Authorities accused of laundering ransomware payments made in cryptocurrencies on behalf of cybercriminals that targeted Hospitals.
The man appeared for the first time on Wednesday in a Federal court in Portland Oregon, where he was reschedualed to appear on October 4th next to face trial on charges for his role in an international crypto money laundering conspiracy.
Reports suggest according to the indictment Mr Denis Dubnikov and his accomplices did knowingly and intentionally launder the proceeds of ransomware attacks on both indivoduals and organisations in the USA and around the world over a 3yr period between Aug 2018 and Aug 2021.
In 2019 alone Mr Dubnikov is believed to have laundered more than $400,000 in Ryuk ransom proceeds, stated DOJ officials in a statement, while it is believed that those involved laundered at least $70 million in total funds paid to the cybercriminals responsible for the ransonware attacks.
If convicted Mr Dubnikov faces a maximun sentence of 20yrs for his part in the crime.
At the time of his arrest in November 2021, his Lawyer Alleged that he was initially Kidnapped by US Authorities in Mexico before being transfered to Europe.
Mr Dubnikov the co-founder of crypto trading platforms Coyote Crypto and Eggchange was held at Mexico City Airport when he arrived on Vacation before being put on a flight to the Netbetlands, where he was arrested in a similar fashion to Alexander Vinnik, the alleged operator of the infamous cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e who was picked up in 2017 in a Greek City on foot of a US arrest warrant, before being handed over to French Authorities, who sentenced him to 5 yrs for money laundering afterwhich he was returned to Greece for extradition to the US.