The UK, US, and Australia have announced sanctions against 16 individuals accused of being part of Evil Corp, one of the most notorious cybercrime gangs in the world. Russia-based Evil Corp is accused of stealing around $300 million over nearly ten years. The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has revealed that the gang’s leader, Maksim Yakubets, was supported by his father, Viktor Yakubets.
The information was released as part of a multinational operation to disrupt Evil Corp and another notorious hacking group, LockBit. Known for their mafia-style operations, Evil Corp has waged a campaign of destructive cyber-attacks worldwide for over a decade. In 2019, Maksim Yakubets and another man, Igor Turashev, were sanctioned, and a $5 million bounty was placed on Yakubets’ arrest.
The NCA now states that Viktor Yakubets was a major part of the cyber-crime group, aiding the gang in laundering stolen funds. Maksim Yakubets had reportedly lived a playboy lifestyle in Moscow.
Sanctions target Evil Corp leaders
Additionally, Maksim’s father-in-law, Eduard Benderskiy, a former high-ranking FSB official, has been sanctioned for helping protect and coordinate the group with his connections to the Russian security services. Another individual sanctioned is Aleksandr Ryzhenkov, described by the NCA as Yakubets’ right-hand man and an affiliate of the ransomware gang LockBit. This is the first time a member of Evil Corp has been linked to another major gang, indicating collaboration between hacker groups.
As part of the sanctions, four arrests were 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 has taken place in conjunction with 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 NCA said Evil Corp’s links to the Russian state had been exposed. “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,” said Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
