Two former Moscow investigators were recently found guilty of accepting a whopping $75.4 million bribe from hackers they previously extorted.
A Moscow court handed down severe penalties, including a 16-year sentence in a maximum-security penal colony and a hefty fine of 500 million rubles ($5.2 million) to former investigator Marat Tambiev. His subordinate, Kristina Lyakhovenko, received a 9-year sentence and was barred from public service for 8 years after release.
Tambiev was convicted of accepting a bribe on a significant scale and abusing his authority, while Lyakhovenko was found guilty of similar charges along with falsifying evidence. Despite the accusations, Tambiev seemed unbothered, boldly proclaiming, “If one is to be, then be the best!”
The bribery case stemmed from Tambiev’s involvement in extorting a cybercrime syndicate, resulting in a bribe offer of half the syndicate’s massive fund. However, their attempt backfired when the syndicate reported the extortion to authorities, leading to the investigators’ arrests.
The Infraud Organization, responsible for accumulating the illicit funds, was deemed one of the largest cyberfraud enterprises ever prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice.