Russian FSB lieutenant colonel steals bitcoins worth 187 million rubles from a hacker

What’s new? Dmitry Demin, a former employee of the Federal Security Service (FSB) of the Samara region, was accused of stealing bitcoins worth almost 190 million rubles from a hacker under investigation. Demin pleaded guilty in full and offered the Chief Military Prosecutor's Office (CMPO), leading the investigation, to testify on the accomplices to the fraud. This is reported by the publication Kommersant.

Information on the Kommersant website

How did events develop? The retired lieutenant colonel initially came under investigation in February 2022. The investigation was conducted in Samara and then the case was transferred to Moscow. The investigation revealed that Demin and several other unidentified individuals committed fraud on a particularly large scale between April 18 and December 7, 2021. They stole digital rights to cryptocurrency in the amount of 68,5 BTC, the total value of which at the time of the theft was about 187.38 million when converted into rubles. The case materials indicate that the retired lieutenant colonel committed the crime, abusing his official position.

As for the hacker, after he was detained, he voluntarily testified and provided law enforcement with passwords and explained how the system worked. The CMPO assumes that the former FSB officer used the data obtained from the hacker and stole the bitcoins.

Despite the cooperation with the CMPO, the court refused to release Demin, and his stay in the detention center was extended until December 1, 2022. The decision was justified by the fact that if he were free, he would be able to use his connections in the governmental structures to counteract the investigation and conceal the stolen funds.

At the end of July, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation initiated a criminal case against the head of the department for drug trafficking control of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Mordovia for taking bribes in bitcoins. The lieutenant colonel demanded 2 BTC from the suspect in exchange for information on operational and investigative activities.