US, UK sanction members of Russian cybercrime ring

The U.S. and the U.K. imposed sanctions on 11 members of the Russian cybercrime group Trickbot in a coordinated effort, the U.S. Treasury Department announced on Sept. 7.

"Today’s targets include key actors involved in management and procurement for the Trickbot group, which has ties to Russian intelligence services," the announcement said.

Trickbot is a Russian-based group that targets non-Russian entities, including financial institutions and hospitals, with ransomware campaigns. According to the U.S. Treasury Department, the group's aims are aligned with the Russian government.

The U.K. National Crime Agency (NAC) issued a similar statement, saying that Trickbot "also threatened those who oppose the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine."

The NAC said that Trickbot receives instructions from Russian intelligence, and that the group "was one of the first to offer support" when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The sanctions involve travel bans and asset freezes, along with publicizing the identities of the cybercriminals, who are all Russian nationals.

The 11 sanctioned individuals are Andrey Zhuykov, Maksim Galochkin, Maksim Rudenskiy, Mikhail Tsarev, Dmitry Putilin, Maksim Khaliullin, Sergey Loguntsov, Vadym Valiakhmetov, Artem Kurov, Mikhail Chernov, and Alexander Mozhaev.

Zhuykov, Galochkin, Redenskiy, and Tsarev were identified as leaders with administrative or management roles within the group.

"Our sanctions show they cannot act with impunity," U.K. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said. "We know who they are and what they are doing."

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