Police have arrested a suspected Russian hacker on the Thai resort island of Phuket who was wished by the FBI on allegations he was behind cyberattacks on U.S. and European authorities businesses, officers stated.
The 35-year-old, who entered Thailand on Oct. 30 at Phuket Airport, was taken into custody earlier this month at his lodge and is now being held pending doable extradition, Thai police stated.
The suspect’s identify was not launched however Russian state-run information company Russia At this time recognized him as Denis Obrezko, a local of Stavropol. It reported that his kinfolk confirmed the Nov. 6 arrest and had been planning to combat his extradition to the US.
In an e-mail Thursday, the U.S. Division of Justice refused to touch upon the doable extradition or give different particulars. The U.S. State Division and American officers in Thailand additionally refused to remark.
The Russian International Ministry and the Russian embassy in Thailand additionally didn’t reply to requests for remark, however Russia’s consul normal in Phuket, Yegor Ivanov, advised Russian state information company Tass that the consulate had “acquired notification of the arrest of a Russian citizen on fees of committing an info expertise crime.”
“He was arrested on November 6 and transferred to Bangkok that very same day,” Ivanov stated, with out offering additional particulars.
Ilya Ilyin, head of the consular part of the Russian embassy in Thailand, advised Tass on Monday that Russian diplomats had visited the suspect in jail in Bangkok.
“Embassy employees performed a consular go to to the Russian citizen detained on the request of the US,” Ilyin stated, including that the embassy was arranging for him to have the ability to meet together with his kinfolk.Commercial. Scroll to proceed studying.
Thailand’s Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau stated in a Nov. 12 assertion that it was an FBI tip that the “world-class hacker” was touring to Thailand that led to his arrest in Phuket on a world warrant.
Within the raid on his lodge, police seized laptop computer computer systems, cellphones, and digital wallets, the police’s assertion stated, including that FBI officers had been readily available for the arrest.
A number of media shops reported a second Russian hacking suspect wished by the FBI, who has ties to Russian navy intelligence, had been arrested in Phuket the next day, however Thai police stated there had solely been one arrest.
The formal request for the suspect’s extradition has been made however it was not clear how lengthy the method would take.
