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Swiss arrest Ukrainian hacker wanted by the FBI

dodgy looking computer screen
The hackers allegedly recruited accomplices in the US who would receive the stolen money, then transfer it abroad. © Keystone

A Ukrainian cybercriminal who US authorities have been chasing for a decade has been arrested in Switzerland.

Vyacheslav Penchukov was arrested in October while he was visiting his wife near Lake Geneva, the Krebs on Security website first reported on Friday.

Contacted by the Watson news portal, Swiss justice authorities confirmed the arrest of a Ukrainian citizen, and said that they had decided – on November 15 – to authorise the extradition of the suspect to the US.

The Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) added that the suspect was so far refusing this extradition, and that there was still the possibility for an appeal.

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Penchukov is accused by US authorities of coordinating a group of hackers who stole millions of dollars by pirating online bank account details in the US, using the “Zeus” virus. In 2012, he was indicted along with eight others, but managed to evade US investigators until now.

The 40-year-old Penchukov comes from the Donetsk region in Eastern Ukraine, recently annexed by Russia, according to the Krebs on Security website.

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SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR