Netherlands to extradite Russian hacker to U.S.

Russian hacker Vladimir Drinkman will be extradited to the United States, a court in the Netherlands determined Tuesday. Washington wants to prosecute Drinkman for hacking U.S. companies, being a member of a criminal organization, counterfeiting payment cards, money laundering and fraud. Russia has also asked the Netherlands to extradite Drinkman to that country as he is being charged with similar offenses in Moscow, according to nrc.nl. The Minister of Justice, Ivo Opstelten, decided to comply with the American request over Russia's claim. Drinkman's attorney, Bart Stapert, disagreed with the decision to extradite his client and filed a lawsuit against the Netherlands. Stapert argued that Opstelten had not taken all criteria into consideration while making his decision, particularly since multiple countries want to put Drinkman on trial. Drinkman sees the ruling as unfair since he is of Russian nationality and has family in Russia. The breach of his family life is inherent in extradition custody and justified considering the seriousness of the charges brought against him, according to the judge. Drinkman was allegedly part of a gang of hackers who stole millions of credit card information between the years 2005 and 2012. He was arrested at the Schiphol Airport at the request of the U.S. in 2012.