Russian authorities attack REvil hackers, seize luxury cars and cryptocurrencies

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One of Russia’s most notorious ransomware gangs has been hit by a major raid.

The Russian Federal Security Service, or FSB, announced on January 14 a series of raids on 25 addresses associated with 14 REvil members in locations around Moscow, St. Petersburg and Lipetsk.

The announcement did not specify how many of the associated hackers had been arrested, but news outlet RIA Novosti published a video illustrating several of the arrests.

In those raids, the FSB said it confiscated 426 million rubles ($5.5 million) in cash and cryptocurrency, as well as $600,000 in dollars and 500,000 euros. They also seized an unknown number of crypto wallets and 20 luxury cars.

According to the FSB, the agency carried out its raids in response to requests from US authorities, who had identified REvil’s leadership. Russia’s ecosystem of cybergangs, particularly those focused on ransomware, has become a central issue in US-Russia relations over the past year. In October, US President Joe Biden convened a list of countries to talk about ransomware, visibly leaving Russia out of the discussion.

US authorities then conducted more aggressive international operations to find ransomware gang leaders. A consistent allegation has been that Russian President Putin tacitly condones the operations of cybercriminals in Russia as long as they do not target Russian entities.

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