Canadian accused in Yahoo hack poses ‘high flight risk’: documents
A Hamilton man accused in a massive hack of Yahoo emails posed an “extremely high flight risk” in part due to his alleged ties to Russian intelligence agents, law enforcement officials allege in documents filed with an Ontario court.
In an application for Karim Baratov’s arrest, U.S. authorities describe the 22-yearold Ancaster resident as an alleged “hackerfor-hire” paid by the Russian Federal Security Service, known as the FSB.
They argue in the documents that Baratov allegedly has the money to leave Canada and the ability to destroy evidence related to his alleged activities while on the run.
“Given the serious nature of his conduct, the public impact of his hacking-for-hire conduct, his substantial earnings as a result of the unlawful hacking, and his ties to foreign intelligence officers with nation state resources at their disposal, he should be arrested on an urgent basis and detained,” the documents say.
“Even assuming that Baratov does not receive assistance from his known and unknown Russian government conspirators, he possesses the skills and financial resources to flee justice,” the documents say, noting that Baratov does not appear to have any “legitimate employment.”
Baratov was arrested last Tuesday. U.S. authorities said he and three others — two of them allegedly officers of the FSB — were indicted for computer hacking, economic espionage and other crimes.
Baratov’s lawyer, Amedeo Dicarlo, has said the allegations against his client are unfounded.
Baratov appeared briefly in a Hamilton court by video link on Friday. A bail hearing has been scheduled for April 5.
Dicarlo said he will seek to have Baratov released and plans to fight an extradition order. He declined to discuss Baratov’s personal or professional life, describing him only as a successful entrepreneur.
In documents filed with the Hamilton court, U.S. authorities warned that if Baratov found out about the warrant for his arrest before it could be carried out, he may attempt to flee.
They pointed to the case of one of Baratov’s alleged co-conspirators, Alexsey Belan, who was previously arrested for another matter in Greece in 2013 and was to be extradited to the United States.
Belan was released on bail while waiting for his extradition hearing and “promptly” fled to Russia, where he “benefited from the protection afforded by Russian government officials,” according to the documents.
“Belan has been able to continue his crimes — namely, providing hacking services to the Russian government and victimizing hundreds of millions of innocent thirdparties for, in some instances, private financial gain,” the documents said.