Alleged Russian ransomware attacker extradited from the Netherlands to face trial in US 

Quick Take

  • Denis Dubnikov, a Russian citizen, allegedly participated in ransomware attacks that affected US citizens and purportedly laundered over $400,000.
  • The arrest comes a week after Dutch police arrested Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev for facilitating money laundering.

A Russian citizen and alleged participant in Ryuk ransomware attacks has been extradited from the Netherlands for trial in the US.  

Denis Mihaqlovic Dubnikov and his co-conspirators allegedly laundered $70 million from ransomware attacks, with Dubnikov purportedly laundering over $400,000, the Department of Justice said yesterday. The attacks encrypted files holding them hostage until payment. 

The news of Dubnikov’s extradition comes a week after the arrest by Dutch authorities of Alexey Pertsev, developer of the crypto mixer Tornado Cash, who was accused of facilitating money laundering.

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The US elevated ransomware investigations to the same priority as terrorism last year following the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack. The US has since extradited other individuals in the name of ransomware investigations, including in March, when a Canadian man was accused of carrying out dozens of ransomware attacks.

Dubnikov will face trial in Portland on Oct, 4, and could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. 


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About Author

MK Manoylov has been a reporter for The Block since 2020 — joining just before bitcoin surpassed $20,000 for the first time. Since then, MK has written nearly 1,000 articles for the publication, covering any and all crypto news but with a penchant toward NFT, metaverse, web3 gaming, funding, crime, hack and crypto ecosystem stories. MK holds a graduate degree from New York University's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program (SHERP) and has also covered health topics for WebMD and Insider. You can follow MK on X @MManoylov and on LinkedIn.