US Announces Coordinated Sanctions Against Russian Cybercrime Group

The U.S., U.K. and Australia this week sanctioned a group of people and entities that they said have ties to Russian cybercriminal group Evil Corp., which the Office of Foreign Assets Control designated in 2019 for its international hacking campaigns.

The U.S. sanctioned Eduard Benderskiy, a former officer of the Russian Federal Security Service and father-in-law of Evil Corp.’s leader Maksim Viktorovich Yakubets, along with his two businesses: Russia-based management consulting firms Vympel-Assistance LLC and Solar-Invest LLC. OFAC said Benderskiy has helped Evil Corp. form “relationships” with Russian intelligence services officials.

OFAC also sanctioned Yakubets' father, Viktor Grigoryevich Yakubets, a member of Evil Corp., and “second-in-command” Aleksandr Viktorovich Ryzhenkov, along with four other members of Evil Corp.: Sergey Viktorovich Ryzhenkov, Aleksey Yevgenevich Shchetinin, Beyat Enverovich Ramazanov and Vadim Gennadievich Pogodin.

The U.K. sanctioned 16 people with ties to the group, including Benderskiy and others that the U.S. designated in its original sanction of Evil Corp. in 2019 (see 1912050025). The designations target people for providing financial services to Evil Corp., for their involvement in “malicious cyber activity” on behalf of the group, and more.

Australia said it sanctioned Maksim Viktorovich Yakubets, Igor Olegovich Turashev and Aleksandr Viktorovich Ryzhenkov for holding "senior roles" with Evil Corp. The country announced the designations under its "autonomous cyber sanctions framework," the third time it said it has used the measures.

The “trilateral action” highlights “our collective commitment to safeguard against cybercriminals like ransomware actors, who seek to undermine our critical infrastructure and threaten our citizens,” said Brad Smith, the Treasury Department’s acting undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. The U.S. and its allies “will continue to expose and disrupt the criminal networks that seek personal profit from the pain and suffering of their victims.”