Four REvil members sentenced to more than four years in prison

Four members of the ransomware gang REvil were sentenced to multiple years in prison in Russia for charges related to hacking and money laundering.

The sentences for Artem Zayets, Alexey Malozemov, Daniil Puzyrevsky and Ruslan Khansvyarov were announced on Friday after the Russian military prosecutor’s office pushed last week for prison terms of up to six-and-a-half years. 

According to Russian media outlet Kommersant, the St. Petersburg Garrison Military Court announced Zayets and Malozemov were sentenced to four-and-a-half and five years, respectively, in a penal colony, while Khansvyarov and Puzyrevsky received five-and-a-half and six years. 

Puzyrevsky was seen as the group’s leader and could potentially face a fine in addition to the prison sentence. 

The four were part of an initial group of 14 people arrested by Russian authorities following tips sent by U.S. authorities. Eight men were eventually tried but four others were separated from the ones who were sentenced on Friday. 

All of the men were arrested in a series of raids across Russia in early 2022, before the invasion of Ukraine. Authorities reported at that time that they seized more than 426 million rubles ($4.38 million), $600,000 and €500,000 (about $544,000) in cash, along with cryptocurrency wallets, computers and nearly two dozen expensive cars.

A Russian state news outlet said the arrests took place after U.S. President Joe Biden personally spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin about cyberattacks launched by the group.

The group was responsible for several high-profile incidents, including breaches at JBS, the world’s largest meatpacking company, and Kaseya, a popular software provider.

REvil eventually shut down in 2021 and prosecutors have spent years debating over the charges levied against the group’s members.