Russia Charges Hacker Wanted by FBI Over Ransomware Attacks

A notorious Russian hacker wanted by the U.S. for allegedly launching attacks that had caused chaos internationally has been charged by a court in Russia, it has been reported.

The U.S. State Department had offered a $10 million reward for information that would lead to the arrest of Mikhail Matveev, 32, for alleged cybercrimes going back over the last four years.

Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported on Friday that Kaliningrad’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Prosecutor’s Office had announced the case of a programmer accused of planning ransom demands for encrypted data would be transferred to a court in the Russian exclave.

The ministry did not release details about the identity of the individual but an unnamed source told state-owned RIA that it was Matveev. Newsweek could not independently verify the report.

Matveev has been charged under Article 273 of Russia’s criminal code, RIA said, but in reporting the case, tech publications noted that his being in Russian custody may mean that the U.S. will not get a chance to prosecute him.

Newsweek has contacted the U.S. Justice Department for comment.

Connected to hacking groups like Hive, LockBit and Babuk, Matveev, was also known under the names m1x, Boriselcin or Uhodiransomwar.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said in a statement on May 16, 2023, that from his base in Russia, Matveev had “allegedly used multiple ransomware variants to attack critical infrastructure around the world.”

The U.S. Justice Department filed charges against Matveev for the Hive and LockBit ransomware operations that targeted victims across the U.S.

The FBI said in June 2020, Matveev and LockBit coconspirators allegedly conducted a LockBit ransomware attack on law enforcement agency in Passaic County, New Jersey. In April 2021, he allegedly worked with Babuk ransomware coconspirators to target the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C.

In May 2022, he allegedly encrypted systems at a nonprofit behavioral health care organization headquartered in Mercer County, New Jersey. Total ransom demands amounted to $400 million and they garnered an estimated $200 million in ransom payments, according to the U.S. Justice Department’s statement.

He had been previously charged on December 6, 2022, in a district court in Washington, D.C, for a series of cybercrime charges, and two days later, he was indicted in a New Jersey court with federal warrants issued for his arrest.

Matveev had a prominent online presence, frequently talked with cybersecurity experts and openly discussed his activity using his X account, RansomBoris. Even after he was sanctioned by the U.S., Matveev appeared to taunt U.S. law enforcement, posting a picture of his wanted poster on a t-shirt.