Two Russian hackers charged in theft of $70 million; described as 'most prolific cybercriminals' in a decade

WASHINGTON–Federal prosecutors unsealed charges Thursday against two alleged Russian hackers accused of siphoning about $70 million from thousands of victims' bank accounts in the U.S. and abroad.

Maksim Yakubets, 32, known online as "Aqua," and Igor Turashev, 38, known as "Enki," were described by federal authorities as the "most prolific cyber criminals in the world," hijacking personal financial data and routing streams of cash to their own accounts.

Prosecutors said their victims included large banks, municipalities, schools, an Ohio dairy and an order of Catholic nuns in Chicago.

Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski said the suspects' decade-long operation deployed "the most damaging pieces of financial malware ever used."

Yakubets and Turashev remain at large and are believed to be in Russia. The State Department and the FBI have announced a reward of $5 million for information leading to the arrest of Yakubets, who oversaw the alleged global conspiracy known as "Evil Corp."

Using tainted software dubbed "Bugat," the operation relied largely on infecting computer systems with programs designed to "automate the theft of confidential personal and financial information." That included online banking passwords that were allegedly used to reroute wire transfers and drain accounts.

"For over a decade, Maksim Yakubets and Igor Turashev led one of the most sophisticated transnational cybercrime syndicates in the world," Pittsburgh U.S. Attorney Scott Brady said. "These cybercriminals targeted individuals in western Pennsylvania and across the globe."

A federal grand jury in Pittsburgh returned a 10-count indictment against the pair, charging them with conspiracy to commit fraud, computer hacking, wire fraud and bank fraud.

Nebraska U.S. Attorney Joseph Kelly characterized the scheme as "one of the most outrageous cybercrimes in history."

Benczkowski said investigators had uncovered evidence of a continuing operation as recently as May.

FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich declined to comment on whether the Russian government was linked to the operation.

He said Russian authorities did respond to a request for assistance and provided some help, "to a point." He declined to elaborate.

The Treasury Department, however, said Yakubets has provided "direct assistance to the Russian government’s malicious cyber efforts."

He's not the first hacker to be tied to the Russian government, the Treasury Department said. "The United States Government will not tolerate this type of activity by another government or its proxies and will continue to hold all responsible parties accountable," it said.

Bowdich acknowledged it would be difficult to arrest and prosecute the suspects, with both of them believed to be living in Russia.

But he said identifying and leveling charges against them could limit their movements and raise awareness for other potential victims.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Two Russian hackers charged in thefts totaling $70 million