Charges may be ‘politically motivated,’ lawyer says
CANADIAN SUSPECT
A lawyer for a Canadian man of Kazakh origins arrested as one of four suspects in a massive hack of Yahoo emails said Thursday that the charges against his client may be “politically motivated by the U.S.”
Jag Virk suggested that his client, 22-year-old Karim Baratov, is being used as a scapegoat by American authorities.
“I believe ( U. S. President) Donald Trump is using this to make it appear as if he is going after Russian hackers,” he said. “These allegations are from three years ago.”
Baratov maintains his innocence and has no prior criminal record, his lawyer said.
Toronto police said Baratov was arrested Tuesday in nearby Ancaster at the request of American authorities.
The U. S. Department of Justice said a grand jury in California has indicted Baratov and three others, two of them allegedly officers of the Russian Federal Security Service, for computer hacking, economic espionage and other criminal offences.
U. S. officials said Baratov also went by the names Kay, Karim Taloverov and Karim Akehmet Tokbergenov.
He was arrested under the extradition act, and appeared in court in Hamilton on Wednesday morning. His case was put over until Friday afternoon, when he was expected to appear by video.
An acquaintance described Baratov as an exotic car buff who was flashy but tight- lipped about his personal life — including his job, which involved working with computers.
Also indicted in the alleged conspiracy that authorities said began in January 2014 were Dmitry Aleksandrovich Dokuchaev, 33, Igor Anatolyevich Sushchin, 43, and Alexsey Alexseyevich (Magg) Belan, 29, all Russian nationals and residents.
Dokuchaev and Sushchin are said to be Russian intelligence agents who allegedly masterminded and directed the hacking, the justice department said.
Dokuchaev and Sushchin allegedly tasked Baratov with hacking more than 80 accounts in exchange for commissions, according to U. S. authorities, who submitted a provisional arrest warrant to Canadian authorities March 7.
Belan, previously indicted in 2012 and 2013, was named one of the FBI’s most wanted cyber- criminals in November 2013 but escaped to Russia before he could be extradited from Europe, the department said. It’s not clear whether he or Dokuchaev and Sushchin, will ever step foot in an American courtroom since there’s no extradition treaty with Russia.