The UK, US, and Australia have announced sanctions against 16 individuals accused of being part of the world’s most notorious cybercrime gang, Evil Corp. Based in Russia, this group is alleged to have stolen around $300 million over nearly a decade of hacking activities. The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) disclosed that the gang’s leader, Maksim Yakubets, has been supported by his father, Viktor Yakubets, despite previous denials.
This revelation is part of a larger multinational operation aimed at disrupting Evil Corp and the notorious hacking group LockBit. In 2019, Maksim Yakubets and his associate Igor Turashev were sanctioned, and a $5 million bounty was issued for their arrest. Maksim’s brother, Artem, was also named in the US sanctions alongside other Russian individuals.
However, the NCA now accuses Viktor of being a significant part of the group, allegedly helping to launder stolen funds. Authorities have linked Eduard Benderskiy, a former high-ranking FSB official, to Evil Corp.
Sanctioning global cybercrime syndicates
“Maksim Yakubets and his Evil Corp gang have lived an untouchable lifestyle, but today’s announcement shows that we are still watching and determined to disrupt them and bring them to justice,” said Will Lyne, Head of Cyber Intelligence at the NCA. Among those sanctioned is Aleksandr Ryzhenkov, described by the NCA as Yakubets’ right-hand man and an affiliate of the ransomware gang LockBit. This marks the first time a member of Evil Corp has been publicly linked to another significant hacking group, suggesting cross-group collaboration in cyber-attacks.
Alongside the sanctions, four arrests have been made, including two in the UK. In August, the NCA executed search warrants in southern England, arresting a 46-year-old male suspected of being linked to a LockBit affiliate and a 50-year-old female on suspicion of money laundering. “The action announced today is the result of extensive and complex investigations by the NCA into two of the most harmful cybercrime groups of all time,” said James Babbage, Director General for Threats at the NCA.
The investigation also exposed Evil Corp’s connections to the Russian state. “Today’s sanctions send a clear message to the Kremlin that we will not tolerate Russian cyber-attacks, whether from the state itself or from its cyber-criminal ecosystem,” stated Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
