Russian Hacker Stole $20K in Crypto, Blew it at Online Casinos

Police in the Russian city of Krasnodar have arrested a hacker who they believe broke into crypto wallets to steal tokens, only to spend his ill-gotten gains at online casinos.

According to a Telegram post from the Krasnoyar Police and a report from the Russian media outlet Krasnodarskie Izvestia, the man successfully stole cryptocurrency worth over 1.6 million rubles (approximately $20,000) from the wallets of unsuspecting crypto traders.

Police identified the man as a 32-year-old Muscovite. Officers arrested him in Krasnodar, a city in Southern Russia, near the Black Sea coast.

A police spokesperson stated that the man started breaking into wallets after discovering a “part-time hacking job” through an unnamed messaging app.

Russian Hacker Spent Stolen Crypto in Casinos

The man reportedly followed instructions from an unnamed accomplice, first hacking the email accounts of crypto traders and then using the data he found in those accounts to access their crypto exchange accounts. From there, he was able to empty the traders’ wallets.

He then used unlicensed crypto trading platforms to sell the coins for cash, police said. As part of his agreement with his “employer,” officers added, he “transferred part of the cash to his accomplice.”

However, the spokesperson stated that the suspect spent the entirety of his own share of the funds in an online casino, apparently backing losing bets.

Officers said they have launched a criminal investigation against the man on charges of fraud. If convicted, a court could sentence him to up to 10 years in jail. The spokesperson said the investigation was ongoing.

Krasnodar Crackdown

Earlier this year, Krasnodar police officers said they shut down an illegal gambling den in conjunction with the local branch of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Officers said they seized cash, three poker tables, betting chips, packs of cards, a laptop, and a ledger from an address on the city’s Gogolya Street.

Police stated that they discovered the den in a rented office space. Investigators believe the den primarily operated at night and utilized a video surveillance system to aid operators in evading detection.

The den only admitted “regular customers.” At the time of the raid, officers reported finding a 27-year-old administrator and several customers at the scene.

Police officers said they would continue to investigate, as they had not yet identified the mastermind behind the operation.

Earlier this month, a court in the Moscow Oblast jailed a group of four Chinese men for operating an illegal Texas Hold ’em casino in a holiday resort. The court heard that the den only admitted Chinese nationals.