MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A Russian national, Vladimir Drinkman, is to be arraigned Tuesday on hacking charges for allegedly stealing over a million of bank card numbers, his US attorney said on Friday.
Four Russians – Vladimir Drinkman, Alexander Kalinin, Roman Kotov and Dmitry Smilianets – and Ukrainian Mikhail Rytikov have been accused of participating in the largest hacking scheme ever prosecuted in the United States.
The five suspects are believed to have stolen and resold 160 million credit and debit card numbers, resulting in more than $300 million being stolen.
In June 2012, Drinkman and Smilianets were arrested at the request of the United States while traveling in the Netherlands. In September 2012, Smilianets was handed over to the United States where he has pleaded not guilty. If convicted they may face decades behind bars.
