US, European and Ukrainian police have arrested a ringleader of a notorious hacker gang operating from Ukraine which used ransomware to fleece hundreds of millions of euros from their victims, Europol said Tuesday.
Law enforcement officers swarmed 30 properties in western and central Ukraine including in Kyiv and Cherkasy on the Dnipro River, as well as Vinnytsa and Rivne last Tuesday, the Hague-based Europol said.
“In an unprecedented effort, law enforcement and judicial authorities from seven countries have joined forces with Europol and Eurojust to dismantle and apprehend in Ukraine key figures behind significant ransomware operations,” it said in a statement.
“The operation comes at a critical time as the country grapples with the challenges of Russia’s military aggression against its territory,” Europol added.
Police arrested a 32-year-old man alleged to have been a ringleader in the gang, as well as four accomplices.
More than 20 investigators from France, Germany, Norway and the United States were deployed to Kyiv to help local police.
Meanwhile Europol set up a virtual command post in The Netherlands to analyse data seized during the Ukrainian house searches…
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