Belarus shuts down global cybercrime, recovers over $34 million

Belarusian law enforcement authorities have shut down an international financial service operated by a criminal cyber network, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

According to the ministry, the group ran an underground banking system that provided services to hackers worldwide, helping them launder and conceal stolen funds. By disrupting the network’s illegal cash flows, investigators recovered more than 100 million Belarusian roubles ($34.1 million), which were returned to the state, Caliber.Az reoports via Belarusian media. 

The Interior Ministry said not only the organisers of the illicit financial service but also a number of its clients have been brought to trial. Among those implicated are some of the world’s most wanted cybercriminals. The investigation began in 2018, after Belarusian authorities received initial intelligence from US law enforcement agencies.

Investigators noted that the group focused exclusively on large-scale transactions and did not handle small sums. The infrastructure they created was widely used by other criminal enterprises, including the operators of Scorpion, described by the ministry as one of the largest international drug marketplaces.

The investigation also uncovered a digital trail linked to Vladimir Kadaria, a Belarusian national identified as one of the most sought-after hackers globally. According to the Interior Ministry, Kadaria rose within the criminal underworld by developing and selling malware, eventually scaling its production. The ministry claimed that his malicious software was used in about 40 per cent of cyberattacks targeting banking and payment processing servers.

The Interior Ministry did not specify whether Kadaria has been detained or formally charged, nor did it provide further details on the ongoing legal proceedings.

By Sabina Mammadli