he ringleaders of a major organised criminal network that stole nearly £3m from online bank accounts have each been jailed for four years and eight months after a Croydon Crown Court ruling.
Ukrainian nationals Yuriy Konovalenko and Yevhen Kulibaba were sentenced after an investigation by the Met's Police Central eCrime Unit (PCeU), codenamed Operation Lath. So far the Met has jailed 13 of the gang's members.
The PCeU argued that the prison sentences show the police to be committed to bringing online fraudsters to justice, but the length of time Konovalenko and Kulibaba will serve could be viewed as too short.
Christopher Chaney, who is alleged to have hacked the email accounts of celebrities such as Scarlett Johansson, could face up to 121 years in prison if convicted, for example.
The sentences to be served by the hacking group are only marginally longer than those handed to youths organising anti-social behaviour on Facebook during the London riots, which failed to materialise.
The hacking group used Trojan software to infect the personal computers of bank account holders, capture confidential information, such as usernames, passwords and account numbers, and subsequently steal funds, according to the PCeU.
The funds were then transferred to a large number of receiving accounts controlled by the group.
Kulibaba was the leader, allocating the accounts to be attacked, organising the recipient accounts, and removing the funds.
Konovolenko was found guilty of helping Kulibaba to establish the recipient accounts and instructing others in the group to remove the money.
"These defendants were part of an organised network of computer criminals operating a state-of-the art international online banking fraud, through which they stole many millions of pounds from individuals and businesses in the UK and US," said Metropolitan Police detective inspector Colin Wetherill.
"The investigation involved unprecedented levels of co-operation between the Metropolitan Police, the UK banks, the FBI and other UK and international law enforcement agencies."
Wetherill said that the PCeU will continue to work hard to bring online fraudsters to justice.
Source: http://www.v3.co.uk/v3-uk/news/2122037/ukrainian-bank-account-hackers-jailed
Ukrainian nationals Yuriy Konovalenko and Yevhen Kulibaba were sentenced after an investigation by the Met's Police Central eCrime Unit (PCeU), codenamed Operation Lath. So far the Met has jailed 13 of the gang's members.
The PCeU argued that the prison sentences show the police to be committed to bringing online fraudsters to justice, but the length of time Konovalenko and Kulibaba will serve could be viewed as too short.
Christopher Chaney, who is alleged to have hacked the email accounts of celebrities such as Scarlett Johansson, could face up to 121 years in prison if convicted, for example.
The sentences to be served by the hacking group are only marginally longer than those handed to youths organising anti-social behaviour on Facebook during the London riots, which failed to materialise.
The hacking group used Trojan software to infect the personal computers of bank account holders, capture confidential information, such as usernames, passwords and account numbers, and subsequently steal funds, according to the PCeU.
The funds were then transferred to a large number of receiving accounts controlled by the group.
Kulibaba was the leader, allocating the accounts to be attacked, organising the recipient accounts, and removing the funds.
Konovolenko was found guilty of helping Kulibaba to establish the recipient accounts and instructing others in the group to remove the money.
"These defendants were part of an organised network of computer criminals operating a state-of-the art international online banking fraud, through which they stole many millions of pounds from individuals and businesses in the UK and US," said Metropolitan Police detective inspector Colin Wetherill.
"The investigation involved unprecedented levels of co-operation between the Metropolitan Police, the UK banks, the FBI and other UK and international law enforcement agencies."
Wetherill said that the PCeU will continue to work hard to bring online fraudsters to justice.
Source: http://www.v3.co.uk/v3-uk/news/2122037/ukrainian-bank-account-hackers-jailed
