Russian IT boss sentenced to 14 years for treason
A Moscow court has sentenced Ilya Sachkov, a co-founder of one of Russia’s top cybersecurity firms, Group-IB, to 14 years in jail for treason, news agencies reported on Wednesday.
Sachkov will serve his sentence in a high-security penal colony and will have to pay a fine of 500,000 rubles ($5,560), according to the ruling by the Moscow City Court. The case was heard behind closed doors and the court materials are classified.
The cybersecurity entrepreneur was arrested in 2021 on suspicion of passing classified information to foreign spies. According to the prosecution, Sachkov collected and transmitted information constituting a state secret to foreign intelligence services in 2011. Sachkov denied the accusations.
According to Bloomberg, the trial may be related to the transfer of information to the US about a hacker group that is allegedly linked to Russian intelligence and is accused of cyberattacks during the 2016 US presidential election.
Sachkov is no longer associated with Group-IB as the firm exited the Russian market in April. A new firm, F.A.C.C.T. (Fight Against Cybercrime Technologies), was founded in its place with Sachkov as a shareholder. Group-IB issued a statement condemning Wednesday’s court verdict, while F.A.C.C.T. said the defense would appeal the ruling.
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