U historical prisoner exchange between Belarus, Germany, Norway, Russia, Slovenia and the USA, two Russian citizens serving sentences for cybercrime were released and repatriated to their country.
They are Roman Valerievich Seleznev and Vladislav Klyushin, who are part of a group of eight people who were sent back to Russia in exchange for the release of 16 people who had been detained, including four Americans, five Germans and seven Russian citizens, who were kept as political prisoners.
US President Joe Biden is called hailed the deal as a “feat of diplomacy”, adding that “some of these women and men have been unjustly detained for years”. Other countries that have played a role in the exchange include Poland and Turkey.
Former US Marine Paul Whelan, Wall Street Journal journalist, is among those released from Russia Evan HershkovichVladimir Kara-Murza, a Green Card holder and a well-known critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Russian-American journalist Also Kurmashova.
Seleznev, also known by the aliases Track2, Bulba and nCux, was awarded in 2017 to 27 years in prison for credit card fraud that caused nearly $170 million in damage to small businesses and financial institutions in the United States. He was subsequently sentenced to another 14-year prison term for his involvement in a $50 million cyber fraud and for defrauding banks of $9 million through a hacking scheme.
Another Russian citizen returning home is Klyushin, owner of the M-13 security penetration testing firm. awarded in the US last September for theft of confidential financial information from US companies in a $93 million insider trading scheme.
“Not since the Cold War have there been a similar number of individuals exchanged in this way, and never, as far as we know, has there been an exchange involving so many countries, so many close partners and allies of the United States working together,” National Security. Jake Sullivan was the advisor is quoted as they say.
The development comes after the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) announced the shutdown of a fraudulent platform called Russian Coms (“russiancoms(.)cm”) which allowed its customers to make more than 1.3 million anonymous calls to period from 2021 to 2024, impersonating banks. and law enforcement agencies.
Three persons allegedly involved in the creation and development of the platform were arrested and later released on bail. Marketed through Snapchat, Instagram and Telegram, the caller ID spoofing solution cost between £350 and £1,000 and was available as a bespoke handset and later as a web app.
“The platform allowed criminals to hide their identity by posing as callers from pre-selected numbers, most commonly financial institutions, telecommunications companies and law enforcement agencies,” the NCA said. said. “This allowed them to gain the trust of victims before stealing their money and personal details.”
