Denis Mihaqlovic Dubnikov, the Russian national who recently pleaded guilty to charges related to laundering money for the Ryuk ransomware group, has been sentenced to time served.
Authorities said Dubnikov laundered money for the cybercrime gang between 2018 and August 2021. He was arrested in the Netherlands in November 2021 and extradited to the United States in August 2022. In February 2023, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
According to the Justice Department, Dubnikov on one occasion laundered $400,000 worth of cryptocurrency obtained by the ransomware group from a victim in the United States.
The 30-year-old Russian national and other members of the conspiracy allegedly laundered a total of at least $70 million in ransom proceeds.
For the charges brought against him, the man faced 20 years in federal prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $500,000. However, he has been sentenced to time served and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution.
The Ryuk ransomware emerged in 2018 and it was one of the most active operations, until it was gradually replaced by Conti over the course of 2020 and 2021. In early 2021, researchers estimated that the Ryuk criminal enterprise had been worth $150 million.
Related: Russian National Arrested in Canada Over LockBit Ransomware Attacks
Related: Estonian Ransomware Operator Sentenced to Prison in US
Related: Canadian NetWalker Ransomware Affiliate Gets 20-Year Prison Sentence in US
Eduard Kovacs (@EduardKovacs) is a contributing editor at SecurityWeek. He worked as a high school IT teacher for two years before starting a career in journalism as Softpedia’s security news reporter. Eduard holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial informatics and a master’s degree in computer techniques applied in electrical engineering.
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