Most wanted hacker arrested

Suspected of leading international cyber-crime gang

ONE of the world's most wanted computer system hackers has been arrested in Alicante's Playa San Juan district by National Police.

Ukrainian national Denis K. is accused of leading a cybercrime organisation that robbed $1billion from banks in 40 different countries since 2013.

The detainee managed to accumulate 15,000 bitcoins (around €120million) in one of his accounts. However, this amount had been reduced due to dis- putes with his alleged Russian mafia accomplices – with whom he used to collect money from ATM machines that he hacked into and programmed to dishout all the cash available.

At the house search on Playa San Juan, officers seized top-ofthe-range computer equipment, jewellery worth half-a-million euros, IDs and paperwork for two luxury vehicles.

Denis K., living at the Playa San Juan house with his wife and young daughter, was in close contact via internet, with at least three other gang members - Russian and Ukrainian nationals who have been identified but not yet arrested.

In addition, his bank accounts were frozen and two houses - with an estimated market value of €1million - have been sealed.

According to details revealed by the Minister for the Interior Ignacio Zoido, National Police worked in collaboration with Europol and the FBI.

Denis K. led the group that is held responsible for hundreds of cyber-attacks on banks worldwide. The gang managed to steal over $1.5million from each one accessing private accounts and rapidly converted the amounts into crypto-currency, or so-called virtual cash (mainly bitcoins).

This allowed them to move amounts more rapidly and launder it.

They initially started by hacking into banks in Russian, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Taiwan using malware (infected software) to gain control of their systems. They eventually spread their attacks to banks in other countries.