Russian federal police apprehend hackers accused of stealing 1.7 billion rubles from banks

Russian federal police have uncovered and caught a hacker group accused of stealing more than 1.7 billion rubles ($25 million) from Russian banks. The financial institutions whose accounts were compromised by these cyber attacks have not been named.

Fifty hackers, who relied on malicious software to maintain their illegal operation, have been arrested and now face formal criminal charges. Eighteen of them remain in custody and three are currently under house arrest. The defendants were all delivered to pre-trial detention centers in Moscow by the National Guard, reported the news agency RIA Novosti.

The police investigation was carried out in 15 different regions across the country, involving searches, and the confiscation of computers and other devices used for communication, as well as financial documents and large sums of money. Officials also halted fake money orders amounting to almost 2.3 billion rubles ($34 million).