August 1, 2022 – The Case of Hacker Group Sent Back to Prosecutor General’s Office
The 2nd Western District Military Court has returned the case of a group of carders, led by Kaluga businessman Alexei Stroganov (known as FLINT24), to the Prosecutor General’s Office, according to lawyer Kirill Petryashev.
The international hacker group, under investigation since 2014, is accused of stealing bank cards from residents of Russia, the CIS, Europe, and the USA. The hackers targeted computer networks of processing centers, hotels, supermarkets, and restaurants that stored customer payment cards. The criminal communities controlled a significant portion of the shadow market of payments, as stated in the indictment.
The group allegedly sold dumps, which contain information recorded on the magnetic stripes of payment cards, through their website HoneyMoney21cc.com. Additionally, unknown individuals sold details of payment cards, including numbers, validity periods, information about the cardholder, and CVV and CVC codes. These data were sufficient for online purchases and money transfers.
Stroganov and his accomplices face charges under Article 210 (creation of a criminal community) and Article 187 (illegal circulation of payments) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The case involves a total of 26 individuals, 24 of whom were detained in March 2020. Eight of the accused have since been placed under house arrest after their preventive measure was softened. In December 2021, the Prosecutor General’s Office returned the case for additional investigation.