Netherlands extradites Russian crypto money laundering suspect to U.S.
Dutch officials extradited a Russian man suspected of laundering cryptocurrency to the United States, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement. The 29-year-old, Denis Mihaqlovic Dubnikov, was accused with others of laundering money obtained as the result of ransomware attacks in the United States and elsewhere.
He was arrested in Amsterdam on 2 November, according to newswire ANP. The Department of Justice said the Russian man arrived in the United States earlier this week, and faced an initial appearance in a federal courtroom in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday.
“Specifically, Dubnikov and his accomplices laundered ransom payments extracted from victims of Ryuk ransomware attacks,” the Justice Department said. Ryuk will encrypt files on a computer or network when it is executed, including those on remote drives, and can delete the storage of system backups. It was used frequently to attack hospitals and healthcare providers in the United States for at least the last few years.
The indictment stated that Dubnikov laundered over 400,000 dollars in money obtained in Ryuk attacks in July 2019. The group as a whole laundered a minimum of $70 million in ransom, the U.S. government alleged. “After receiving ransom payments, Ryuk actors, Dubnikov and his co-conspirators, and others involved in the scheme, allegedly engaged in various financial transactions, including international financial transactions, to conceal the nature, source, location, ownership, and control of the ransom proceeds.”
The trial against Dubnikov is expected to last five days, beginning on 4 October. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in a federal prison.
