Cybercrime: The United States puts a $10 million bounty on a Ukrainian hacker’s head

The United States and its allies have launched a sweeping international manhunt targeting Volodymyr Viktorovych Tymoshchuk, a 28-year-old Ukrainian cybercriminal suspected of conducting large-scale ransomware operations worldwide.

The State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs announced on Tuesday a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to his arrest.

Under its Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program, INL is also offering up to $1 million for information on other figures tied to the Nefilim, LockerGoga, and MegaCortex ransomware.

According to an indictment filed in the Eastern District of New York, their activities allegedly resulted in hundreds of victims across multiple countries, particularly targeting large companies in the United States, Canada, and Australia, some of which generated more than $100 million in annual revenue.

The Department of Justice filing also names another defendant, Artem Aleksandrovych Stryzhak, 35, charged in connection with conduct between December 2018 and October 2021.

The investigation involves the Department of Justice, the FBI, Europol, and Eurojust, working with authorities in several European countries—including France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic—as well as Ukraine.