Russian national pleads guilty to US cybercrime charges

A Russian national who was extradited to the US from South Korea earlier this year pleaded guilty on Thursday to federal charges stemming from his role in a cybercriminal organisation, the US Department of Justice said.

Prosecutors say Vladimir Dunaev, 40, was a member of a cybercriminal organisation that deployed a computer banking trojan and ransomware suite of malware known as “Trickbot.”

Dunaev pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit computer fraud and identity theft and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud in US District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

He faces a maximum penalty of 35 years in prison on both counts, when he is sentenced in March.

In July, Russia allowed the US ambassador to Moscow to visit detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in jail there on the same day that Russian embassy staff were given access to Dunaev.

A Russian foreign ministry spokesperson said the visit to Gershkovich was “on a reciprocal basis,” suggesting that officials there were using Dunaev's case as diplomacy.

Reuters