7 years in the shadows, 20 years in prison: is Flint's future a foregone conclusion?
On May 14, the prosecutor began to announce the indictment in the criminal case of Alexey Stroganov and 25 other defendants in the Flint24 group, accused of stealing bank card data and reselling them through stores on the darknet. The prosecution believes that the organized criminal community operated from 2014 to 2020 under the leadership of Stroganov, known by the nickname Flint.
About 30 lawyers represent the defendants in the Second Western District Military Court. The prosecution claims that the organized criminal community of carders operated from 2014 to 2020. The group got its name Flint24 because of the nickname of its founder — Flint. Stroganov was detained in 2020 after the control purchase of data by FSB officers and charged with illegal circulation of payment funds and the creation of OPS. According to investigators, Flint24 created a whole structure of online stores on the darknet, through which they sold bank card data. Among the victims of cybercriminals are credit institutions and their clients from the United States, Serbia and Vietnam.
According to the prosecution's position, voiced at the first court hearing, the group of cybercriminals consisted of several structural divisions in Moscow, the Kaluga Region and the Crimea, which were coordinated by Roman Vasiliev. Some departments were engaged in the theft of data from the magnetic strips of bank cards, while others implemented them through the darknet. In addition, Stroganov headed the Autonomous Non-profit Organization Kibalchish, which on paper dealt with countering cybercrime, but in fact eliminated the group's competitors.
During the existence of the OPS, its participants managed to recruit and train more than 20 people. The prosecutor said that during searches at the address of one of the divisions of the criminal network, $432 thousand was seized. Stroganov himself called the charges illegal and absurd, refusing to admit guilt.
Charges of carding Stroganov are brought not only in Russia, but also in the United States. In early 2024, the US Secret Service put Flint on the wanted list. His case is being handled by the Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
According to New Jersey prosecutors indictments, Stroganov and his associates collected data from hundreds of millions of credit cards and bank accounts, causing $35 million in damage to financial institutions. The US Attorney's Office qualified Stroganov's actions under three articles: electronic fraud and conspiracy, for which up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250 thousand are provided, bank fraud, for which you can get up to 30 years in prison and a fine of $1 million, and aggravated identity theft, for which mandatory punishment is provided. in the form of two years in prison. These sanctions could only be applied if Stroganov is handed over to the US justice system. However, he is being tried at home, and Russian law treats such crimes more leniently: up to seven years in prison and a fine of 1 million rubles for illegal circulation of payment funds by an organized group, and from 12 to 20 years in a penal colony for creating an OPS.
Stroganov has previously been convicted of carding: in 2006, the Lublin court of Moscow sentenced him to six years in a penal colony. After his release, he began working on the cybersecurity of commercial organizations.
On May 14, the prosecutor began to announce the indictment in the criminal case of Alexey Stroganov and 25 other defendants in the Flint24 group, accused of stealing bank card data and reselling them through stores on the darknet. The prosecution believes that the organized criminal community operated from 2014 to 2020 under the leadership of Stroganov, known by the nickname Flint.
About 30 lawyers represent the defendants in the Second Western District Military Court. The prosecution claims that the organized criminal community of carders operated from 2014 to 2020. The group got its name Flint24 because of the nickname of its founder — Flint. Stroganov was detained in 2020 after the control purchase of data by FSB officers and charged with illegal circulation of payment funds and the creation of OPS. According to investigators, Flint24 created a whole structure of online stores on the darknet, through which they sold bank card data. Among the victims of cybercriminals are credit institutions and their clients from the United States, Serbia and Vietnam.
According to the prosecution's position, voiced at the first court hearing, the group of cybercriminals consisted of several structural divisions in Moscow, the Kaluga Region and the Crimea, which were coordinated by Roman Vasiliev. Some departments were engaged in the theft of data from the magnetic strips of bank cards, while others implemented them through the darknet. In addition, Stroganov headed the Autonomous Non-profit Organization Kibalchish, which on paper dealt with countering cybercrime, but in fact eliminated the group's competitors.
During the existence of the OPS, its participants managed to recruit and train more than 20 people. The prosecutor said that during searches at the address of one of the divisions of the criminal network, $432 thousand was seized. Stroganov himself called the charges illegal and absurd, refusing to admit guilt.
Charges of carding Stroganov are brought not only in Russia, but also in the United States. In early 2024, the US Secret Service put Flint on the wanted list. His case is being handled by the Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
According to New Jersey prosecutors indictments, Stroganov and his associates collected data from hundreds of millions of credit cards and bank accounts, causing $35 million in damage to financial institutions. The US Attorney's Office qualified Stroganov's actions under three articles: electronic fraud and conspiracy, for which up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250 thousand are provided, bank fraud, for which you can get up to 30 years in prison and a fine of $1 million, and aggravated identity theft, for which mandatory punishment is provided. in the form of two years in prison. These sanctions could only be applied if Stroganov is handed over to the US justice system. However, he is being tried at home, and Russian law treats such crimes more leniently: up to seven years in prison and a fine of 1 million rubles for illegal circulation of payment funds by an organized group, and from 12 to 20 years in a penal colony for creating an OPS.
Stroganov has previously been convicted of carding: in 2006, the Lublin court of Moscow sentenced him to six years in a penal colony. After his release, he began working on the cybersecurity of commercial organizations.
