US officials seized $24 million in crypto and charged Russian developer Rustam Gallyamov for running Qakbot.
The US Department of Justice has filed a civil forfeiture complaint to seize over $24 million in cryptocurrency from Rustam Rafailevich Gallyamov, a Russian national accused of developing the Qakbot malware. Gallyamov, 48, faces federal charges related to his role in the Qakbot botnet, which has been linked to global ransomware attacks since 2008. The DOJ aims to hold cybercriminals accountable and disrupt their activities, emphasizing its commitment to seizing ill-gotten assets to compensate victims. In 2023, an international operation disrupted the Qakbot botnet, leading to the seizure of over 170 Bitcoin and more than $4 million in stablecoins from Gallyamov. Despite this disruption, he allegedly continued his criminal activities by deploying alternative malware techniques.
