Suspected Leader of Reveton and Ransom Cartel Cybercriminal Groups Arrested After EU Extradition
Published on August 14, 2024
- Russian-speaking individual was arrested in the U.S. after being hunted for years by law enforcement.
- The cybercriminal was allegedly identified as the person behind the "J.P. Morgan" nickname, the creator of Reventon.
- Two men, a Russian national and a Belarus national, were also arrested in connection to "J.P. Morgan."
A Belarusian-Ukrainian cybercriminal known online as “J.P. Morgan” who ran international ransomware campaigns and wire fraud schemes faces decades in prison in the U.S. after being extradited from Poland on August 9, per a recent announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice.
The U.K. National Crime Agency (NCA) has been investigating “J.P. Morgan” and his criminal network since 2015, while the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) and FBI have been conducting parallel investigations. The operation identified, tracked, and located individuals responsible for several high-profile online nicknames, including “J.P. Morgan.”
Maksim Silnikau, also known as Maksym Silnikov, 38, reportedly led two multiyear cybercrime schemes and has been associated with the online monikers including “J.P. Morgan,” “xxx,” and “lansky” at different points.
The man, whose offenses date back to 2011, is believed to be one of the world’s most prolific Russian-speaking cybercrime actors and the founder of ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) group Reveton.
Alleged co-conspirators Volodymyr Kadariya and Andrei Tarasov were also arrested as a result of an international operation coordinated by the NCA. Kadariya, 38, from Belarus, and Tarasov, 33, from Russia, are also facing charges in the U.S. for allegedly playing critical roles in J.P. Morgan’s cybercrime gang.
The investigation established that these individuals created and distributed ransomware strains associated with extortion, including Reveton and the recent Ransom Cartel, and exploit kits, including Angler, which they used in relation to ransomware, banking Trojans, ad fraud, and more.
On July 18, 2023, the Spanish Guardia Civil, supported by NCA and U.S. officers, arrested Silnikau at an apartment in Estepona, Spain, following U.S. charges.
In 2019, British national Zain Qaiser was convicted of blackmail, "Computer Misuse Act," and money laundering and sentenced to over six years imprisonment in the U.K. due to working with “J.P. Morgan.”