Russia's case against REvil hackers proceeds as government recommends 6.5-year sentence

The Russian military prosecutor's office is reportedly pushing for prison sentences of up to 6.5 years for four people linked to the hacking group REvil.

The Russian cybercrime group was one of the most active ransomware gangs before its shutdown in 2021 and the arrests of 14 suspected members by Russian law enforcement a year later.

The legal proceedings against the alleged hackers have been dragging on for the last two years, and of 14 detainees only eight have made it to a Moscow court to face charges of illegal financial transactions.

The defense for the suspected REvil members, who all deny the charges, has claimed that Russian prosecutors have not presented evidence in trial of crimes related to illicit financial transactions. 

Court hearings have been postponed several times due to a lack of consensus among the prosecutors regarding the REvil case. 

Last week, the Russian military prosecutor's office moved forward with legal proceedings against some of the REvil suspects and recommended sentencing, according to local media outlet Kommersant, which attended the court hearing.

In particular, the suspected leader of the group, Daniil Puzyrevsky, faces a requested six-and-a-half years in prison and a fine of 200,000 rubles ($2,000); Ruslan Khansvyarov could face six years in prison and a fine of 750,000 rubles ($7,700); and Alexei Malozemov and Artyom Zayets could each face five years in prison and a fine of 700,000 rubles ($7,200).

In addition to the initial charges, Puzyrevsky and Khansvyarov were also charged with unauthorized access to computer information.

REvil is known for targeting high-profile individuals, including Lady Gaga and former U.S. president Donald Trump, as well as large U.S. companies like the Florida-based software provider Kaseya in 2021. Hacked Kaseya servers allowed REvil to deploy ransomware inside the internal networks of thousands of companies across the world.

Guilty verdicts for the suspected cybercriminals are by no means guaranteed since it is uncommon for Russia to prosecute its own hackers. The Kremlin's crackdown on REvil coincided with U.S. President Joe Biden's phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in which Biden stated that Russia must “take action” against cybercriminals disrupting American businesses and infrastructure.

The raids in the apartments of suspected REvil members were also conducted at the request of U.S. authorities, according to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).

Authorities reported at that time that they seized more than 426 million rubles ($4.38 million), $600,000 and €500,000 (about $544,000) in cash, along with cryptocurrency wallets, computers and nearly two dozen expensive cars.