The Russian Embassy in Washington sent a note of protest to the State Department over the extradition to the United States of Alexei Burkov, who is suspected of "cybercrimes." The Russian was detained by the Israeli authorities in 2015 at the request of the United States, who accuse him of hacking and credit card fraud.
“They made a decisive demarche regarding the“ hunt ”unleashed by Washington for our citizens around the world. The note sent to the State Department demanded that the American side strictly comply with existing bilateral obligations, ”the Russian diplomatic mission said on Facebook.
Diplomats are in contact with his relatives, provide all the necessary assistance and support, and soon they will visit Burkov in a remand center in Virginia.
Alexei Burkov was detained at Ben Gurion International Airport on December 13, 2015 at the request of the American authorities. At this moment, the Russian was in Israel on vacation with his girlfriend.
“I was arrested under the standard scheme for the United States. In the eight days that I was in the country, the Americans brought me to the Interpol base, after which I was actually abducted from the airport. When I was arrested, they did not give me access to the Russian consul, but they said that I was suspected of real estate fraud in the United States. However, later they were eventually accused of involvement in information leakage, cyber attacks and computer fraud. In total, five charges have been brought against me, which I can’t talk about in detail, ”Burkov explained in an interview with RT.
The court hearings on the case of a Russian citizen were held behind closed doors by a decision of an Israeli court. Burkov spent four years in Israeli prisons on charges of computer crime.
“At first they kept me in terrible conditions. I sat in a punishment cell, sometimes without food or water. Then a couple of months he was in complete isolation. Calls and visits were forbidden - he could not even contact a lawyer. For a long time I was trying to improve the conditions of detention and ended up in a cell for 12 people. There were provocations, fights of prisoners. During this time, I managed to visit three prisons. Now they keep me in Adarim, where everything is relatively calm, ”he said in October 2019.
Late last month, Israeli Justice Minister Amir Ohana signed a permit to extradite Burkov to the United States. It was noted that the decision was made after "numerous consultations with various officials." The process of extradition of a Russian to the authorities of the United States was carried out on Tuesday, November 12.
The Russian Foreign Ministry expressed "extreme regret" in connection with the actions of the Israeli authorities, which "run counter to constructive partnerships" that have been dynamically developing between the countries in recent years. This position of Moscow was brought to the charge d'affaires of Israel, Jacob Livne.
On Friday, November 15, in the federal court of Alexandria, Virginia, a preliminary hearing is scheduled for the case of Alexei Burkov. According to the US Department of Justice, the 29-year-old is accused of “electronic fraud, fraud with data access devices, conspiracy to commit electronic fraud, hacking computer systems, theft of personal data and money laundering”. If convicted on all charges, he faces up to 80 years in prison.
- Embassy of Russia in Washington
- AFP
- © Chris Kleponis
According to U.S. authorities, Burkov ran the Cardplanet website, which was engaged in the sale of debit and credit card numbers, many of which belonged to U.S. citizens. In total, the Russian allegedly sold 150 thousand of these credit cards. In addition, he allegedly organized a closed online forum for “elite cybercriminals,” which could only be accessed by invitation. For the illegal acts that Burkov is accused of, the US authorities demand compensation from him in the amount of $ 21.4 million, as well as transfer of rights from the Cardplanet website.
“I am an ordinary person. He was engaged in information security and programming, worked with databases. Indeed, once upon a time I had contacts with people who could be involved in hacking, but I personally did not commit a crime, just the Americans decided to blame everything on me, making it extreme. I personally have nothing to do with 99% of the prosecution materials, ”Burkov emphasized in an interview with RT.
His friend Dmitry Emelyanov also called bullshit on Israeli media reports that Burkov was actually “number one hacker in Russia” and came to Israel to consult a local bank on cybersecurity.
“He led a modest lifestyle. Alexey had neither expensive watches, nor cars, nor real estate. Look at those photos that I posted on social networks - people who steal millions do not live like that. So lives an ordinary Russian with an average income. He lived in a small studio in the Primorsky district of St. Petersburg, traveled by public transport. Lyosha helped my mother, who lives in Nefteyugansk. If he were a successful con man, he would surely have transferred her to Peter. But he could not afford it, ”said Emelyanov in an interview with RT.