Russian national Evengiy Bogachev's FBI Most Wanted poster (Photo : Reuters)
Despite being hailed as a hero at home, Russian hacker Evgeniy Bogachev is still on FBI's most wanted list with a huge reward on his head.
It was announced by the United States State Department and the bureau on Feb. 23, Tuesday, that a $3 million-reward will be given to whoever could lead to Bogachev's arrest or conviction, according to NBC News. This is the highest bounty ever offered by the US authorities for a cyber case.
Bogachev, a.k.a. "slavik" and "lucky 12345", has been charged by Pennsylvania federal authorities with computer hacking, bank fraud, conspiracy, computer hacking, and money laundering. He is accused of being the administrator of GameOver Zeus, BBC News reported.
The authorities in Omaha, Nebraska have also charged him of federal bank fraud conspiracy in connection to his alleged involvement with Zeus malware known as Jabber Zeus, which has infected one million computers or more. He tricked victims into downloading the software, which gave out their financial information.
All in all, he allegedly stole more than $100 million.
According to the US State Department, "This reward offer reaffirms the commitment of the US government to bring those who participate in organized crime to justice, whether they hide online or overseas."
Joseph Demarest, FBI head of cyber crime division, said the internal security agency in Russia showed interest in working against cybercrime with the US.
In June, the US Justice Department announced that the servers used by cybercriminals in controlling infected machines authorities had been shut down by the authorities. The FBI believes that Bogachev is in Russia, where he is at large.
However, the arrest could be difficult since there is no extradition treaty between the US and Russia.
