A Russian national, Denis Dubnikov, accused of laundering funds for the Ryuk ransomware operators, has been sentenced to three years’ probation and ordered to pay $10,100 in restitution. The information is contained in court documents.
Credit was given for time already served, and he was ordered to comply with the conditions of supervision, including regular reporting to police, drug tests, and voluntary DNA samples upon request by authorities.
According to investigators, at least $70 million in illicit funds passed through the bitcoin exchanges Coyote Crypto and EggChange founded by Dubnikov. He was specifically charged with laundering more than $400,000 through cryptocurrencies in July 2019.
Dubnikov was arrested in November 2021 in the Netherlands at the FBI’s request. In August 2022, he was extradited to the United States.
In February 2023, the Russian national pleaded guilty to one count — conspiracy to commit money laundering. He initially faced up to 20 years in prison.
From 2018, the creators of the Ryuk ransomware attacked at least 235 hospitals and psychiatric facilities in the United States, demanding a ransom to restore files.
In 2020 alone, hackers obtained around $150 million in cryptocurrency. More than $1 million of this amount was laundered via the Binance exchange.