Poles nab $80 million Ukrainian hacker in Cracow, after 8-year FBI chase

A Ukrainian hacker was apprehended in Kraków last week by Polish authorities in cooperation with the FBI after 8 years of tracking. His extended stint of crimes include money-laundering, phishing, and data theft.

Estimates of his total haul over the years exceed $80 million. He can be held under international arrest warrant on a charge of money laundering for 40 days while the FBI arrange extradition.

Initial dialogue between the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Polish Małopolska Police involved speculation of where the suspect might appear in Poland.

At the beginning with cooperation with the FBI we agreed that seeking an international arrest warrant, a citizen of the Ukraine may come to Kraków. The cops found a place where he might stop.

– Mariusz Ciarka, a Police spokesman.

The Ukrainian had family members in Kraków, and came to take time off, renting an apartment in Kraków city centre.

Ciarka reports that the arrival of officers caught him completely by surprise, and he did not resist arrest. The police have secured IT equipment, which they found with the suspect.

“The investigation of the matter relates to a criminal group involved in the extortion of means of payment, and then laundering” Ciarka adds.

The United States requested the Polish justice system provisionally arrest the suspect.

The District Court in Kraków upheld this request and decided to arrest the man for 40 days.

– Bogusława Marcinkowska, spokesperson for the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Kraków

During this time, the Americans will probably pursue extradition, which will allow for judging the Ukrainian in the United States.

Video and more (in Polish) on the TVN web site.



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