Vladislav Klyushin, a Russian businessman with ties to the Kremlin, was sentenced on Thursday to nine years in prison for making tens of millions of dollars after hacking into U.S. computer networks to steal confidential data.
Klyushin, 42, who ran M13, a Moscow-based information technology company that offered media monitoring and cyber-security services for the Russian government, was convicted in February by a federal court in Boston of securities fraud, wire fraud, gaining unauthorized access to computers, and conspiracy to commit those crimes. He was extradited from Switzerland to the U.S. in December 2021.
His arrest hands the U.S. a bargaining chip for negotiations with Vladimir Putin in a possible prisoner exchange, as American officials work to free detained U.S. citizens Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former Marine and computer security official Paul Whelan.
Klyushin's lawyer, Maksim Nemtsev told reporters on Thursday that his client "potentially" could be a good candidate for a prisoner swap with Russia, but clarified that he wasn't aware if this was something being discussed, Reuters reported.
Between 2018 to 2020, his firm viewed and downloaded confidential corporate information from companies including Microsoft and Tesla, and Klyushin used this data to make money illegally in the U.S. stock market. He defrauded American businesses of approximately $93 million, earning $34 million for himself, prosecutors said.
"He thought he could get away with his crimes by perpetrating them from a foreign base, hidden behind layers of fake domain names, virtual private networks, and computer servers rented under pseudonyms and paid for with cryptocurrency," said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. "He found out otherwise, and will now spend nearly a decade of his life in a U.S. prison."
Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division, described Klyushin as a "sophisticated hacker" who "engineered a global get-rich-quick scheme that defrauded unsuspecting American businesses of approximately $93 million."
"He hacked into U.S. computer networks, stole non-public information, and illegally traded on it," said Cohen.
Klyushin has also been ordered to forfeit his $34 million and pay restitution for damages in an amount that is yet to be determined. He was charged along with two Russian co-conspirators: Ivan Ermakov and Nikolai Rumiantcev, while two others, Mikhail Vladimirovich Irzak and Igor Sergeevich Sladkov, were charged in a separate indictment. All four co-conspirators remain at large, the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts, said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Kosto said hackers "will be watching this sentence to decide whether it's worth engaging in this kind of conduct," the Associated Press reported.
Newsweek has contacted Russia's Foreign Ministry via email for comment.
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Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek Reporter based in Kuala Lumpur. Her focus is reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war. Isabel ... Read more
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