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Russia to seek extradition of cybersecurity company executive from Kazakhstan — officials

Nikita Kislitsyn has been put on the wanted list in Russia in connection with an investigation into unlawful access to computer data that’s protected by law

MOSCOW, June 28. /TASS/. Russia will seek the extradition of Nikita Kislitsyn, a cybersecurity company executive that has been detained in Kazakhstan at the US’ request, a representative of Russian security agencies told TASS on Wednesday.

Kislitsyn is the head of the department that develops solutions for protection against cyberattacks at F.A.C.C.T., a company previously known as Group-IB. He has been put on the wanted list in Russia in connection with an investigation into unlawful access to computer data that’s protected by law.

"As part of the investigation into the case of unlawful access to legally protected computer information (Russian Criminal Code Article 272), in which Nikita Kislitsyn was arrested in absentia, a request will be sent to Kazakhstan to extradite him to face criminal charges in the Russian Federation," the official said.

On Wednesday, Moscow’s Tverskoy District Court ruled to arrest Kislitsyn in absentia. The ruling isn’t final and may be appealed.

If convicted, Kislitsyn faces up to five years in jail. According to the court, the agency in charge of the investigation is the Main Investigative Directorate of the Moscow City office of the Russian Interior Ministry.

Group-IB, which is engaged in research in the field of cybersecurity, rebranded itself as F.A.C.C.T. in April.