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Russian citizen suspected of cybercrimes awaits extradition from Canada to Russia

Mikhail Vasiliev is charged with conspiracy to intentionally damage protected computers and to transmit ransom demands

NEW YORK, November 11. /TASS/. The US authorities have filed a complaint to the District of New Jersey against a dual Russian and Canadian national who is suspected of cybercrimes and is now awaiting extradition to the United States, the US Department of Justice said on Thursday.

"Mikhail Vasiliev, 33, <…> is in custody in Canada and is awaiting extradition to the United States," the Department of Justice said in a statement.

Vasiliev is charged with conspiracy to intentionally damage protected computers and to transmit ransom demands. He faces up to five years in prison if found guilty. According to the statement, the suspect and his accomplices used the LockBit ransomware to stage attacks on vital infrastructure objects and large industrial enterprises all over the world, demanding multimillion ransoms.

Earlier on Thursday, European Union’s law enforcement agency, Europol, announced that Vasiliev had been detained in Canada. The investigation into his case was conducted by French law-enforcement bodies, with support from the US, Canada and Europol. During the detention, police seized two firearms, eight computers, 32 hard discs and cryptocurrency worth 400,000 euro.

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