Nikolas Sargeant
According to an announcement by the Department of Justice on Wednesday, Vasinskyi spearheaded over 2,500 ransomware assaults, demanding a total of over $700 million in ransom payments. This sentencing follows a notable incident involving the breach of Miami-based software provider Kaseya, where the ransomware group REvil demanded a staggering $70 million in Bitcoin as ransom.
Subsequently, in March 2022, Russian authorities, at the behest of the United States, conducted a raid resulting in the dismantling of the REvil group.
Rabotnik Ordered to Compensate $16M
Rabotnik, a 24-year-old cybercriminal, has been directed to pay restitution exceeding $16 million. He functioned as an affiliate of groups utilizing the Sodinokibi or REvil ransomware variant, employing cryptocurrency payments and mixing services to obscure their unlawfully obtained funds.
Previously, Yaroslav Vasinskyi was extradited from Poland to the United States and subsequently pleaded guilty to an 11-count indictment. The charges against him encompassed conspiracy to commit fraud and related computer activities, damage to protected computers, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland remarked, "This sentencing underscores the Justice Department's collaboration with our international counterparts and utilization of all available tools to identify cybercriminals, seize their illicit gains, and hold them accountable for their actions."
In 2023, the Department of Justice confiscated nearly 40 Bitcoin, presently valued at approximately $2.3 million, along with $6.1 million in funds linked to ransom payments received by other individuals implicated in the conspiracy.
US Government Holds Over $5 Billion in Bitcoin
The U.S. government has emerged as a significant holder of Bitcoin, acquiring approximately 200,000 coins valued at around $5 billion through seizures related to criminal activities. These digital assets, seized from cybercriminals and darknet markets, are securely stored offline in encrypted hardware wallets managed by various federal agencies, including the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The disposition of the U.S. government's Bitcoin holdings has sparked intrigue among cryptocurrency traders. Any decision regarding the sale of these assets could potentially influence prices and reverberate throughout the trillion-dollar digital asset market. However, the government's strategy is not driven by market speculation or timing but rather by the procedural necessities of confiscation and asset management.
Jarod Koopman, executive director of the IRS's cyber and forensics services section, informed the Wall Street Journal that the government does not engage in active trading or market timing. Instead, their actions are dictated by the procedural timeline of legal proceedings.
