https://ecency.com/cybercrime/@peertube1337/russia-s-cyber-militia-investigation

Title: “Russia’s Cyber Militia: Investigation and Legal Challenges”

Tags: #OSINT #criminal_activity #cybercrime #investigation #legal_process #Russia #Flint #Stroganov_group #corruption #information_security

Content:
The active investigative measures against the Russian cyber militia, known as the “Stroganov Group” or “Flint,” were concluded in February 2021. However, it’s only after another 3 years, in February 2024, that the 2nd Western Military District Court transferred this criminal case for the second time to the 235th Garrison Military Court. Preliminary hearings will commence on March 19, 2024. Remarkably, on this exact day, 4 years ago, all the accused were apprehended. For 4 years, solely due to the charge under Article 210 of the Russian Criminal Code, 26 individuals have remained under arrest, with 15 of them being held in various pre-trial detention centers in Moscow.

Since the first transfer of the “Flint” case to the 235th Garrison Military Court, it’s been taken up by the 3rd judge of this court, yet not a single substantive hearing has been conducted, indicating the high “toxicity” of the criminal case that judges are reluctant to touch, finding formal reasons to abstain.

The “Flint” group was overseen by Igor Voroshilov, an FSB DVCR officer, who is also in custody. However, throughout the investigation, the Russian MIA’s Investigative Department insisted they had no evidence of Voroshilov being an active FSB officer, thus, there were no grounds to transfer the case to the Main Military Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation (GMID SKR). However, in the final version of the indictment, the Russian MIA’s Investigative Department identified Igor Voroshilov… as an FSB officer. But with many caveats. Allegedly, Voroshilov committed the crime not in the line of duty and not while fulfilling his official duties.

Among the accused is a Lithuanian citizen, who during the investigation demanded a translator, which was not provided to him, and a copy of the indictment was handed to him only in Russian upon its completion.

As a result, the judge of the 235th court returned the case to the prosecutor, but the higher instance annulled this decision. In the accusatory conclusion, the MIA’s Investigative Department depicted the “cyber militia” as a group that controlled a significant portion of the shadow market of payment instruments. Despite such a resonant statement, the indictment mentions only a turnover of bank cards worth $700. It’s claimed that the group operated since 2014, but specific operations conducted by operatives are only mentioned for the end of 2019.

At one time, the Flint group performed the functions of Russia’s cyber militia. The leader of the Stroganov group (Flint) was awarded a commendation from the director of the FSB of Russia for ensuring cyber security in Russia and gratitude from Vladimir Putin for ensuring cyber security during the FIFA World Cup in Russia in 2018.