FBI seeking extradition of Israeli prisoner accused of $500M in ransomware attacks

The U.S. government is seeking to extradite a man from Israel, accused of being part of the cybercrime group LockBit, which has extorted $500 million from companies all over the world. 

In the U.S., LockBit—and potentially this Israeli citizen, Rostislav Panev—have breached multiple healthcare organizations, typically deploying ransomware and holding data hostage. 

According to Ynetnews, Panev has been arrested in Israel and charged with conspiracy to commit fraud, cybercrime and wire fraud for his role in data breaches and fraud committed by LockBit. He is awaiting trial, as the authorities stateside seeks to indict him on more charges. 

According to the Dec. 19 report, the U.S. The International Department of the State Attorney’s Office in Israel petitioned the Jerusalem District Court for Panev's extradition. 

Panev is believed to have created some of the hacking applications and other software used by LockBit. In its extradition request, the American authorities reportedly claimed Panev has received personal payment totalling more than $230,000 in Bitcoin. 

In a raid of his home in Haifa, Israel, Panev was found to have ransom letters used by LockBit and Bitcoin wallets linked to the organization’s data breaches, authorities said. 

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) flew to Israel to interrogate Panev, citing an interest in his cybersecurity knowledge. However, he refused to cooperate, the report from Ynetnews said. 

Panev allegedly worked with LockBit from 2019 until his arrest earlier this year. It is not clear if the U.S. will be granted its extradition request. 

For the full report, read the coverage from Ynetnews at the link below.