Office of the Spokesperson
The U.S. Department of State’s Transnational Organized Crime (TOC) Rewards Program is offering a reward for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Russian cybercriminal Maksim Yakubets.
A reward of up to $5 million is offered for information on Yakubets, who is wanted for his involvement with computer malware that infected tens of thousands of computers in both North America and Europe. Yakubets is allegedly the leader of the Bugat/Cridex/Dridex malware conspiracy, as well as a key player in the Zeus malware conspiracy. This malicious software has caused millions of dollars of damage to the United States and to international financial institutions and their customers.
The State Department’s reward offer complements today’s designation by the Treasury Department, Office of Foreign Assets Control of Yakubets under E.O. 13694 as amended, and the Department of Justice’s federal indictments against Yakubets. Yakubets has been added to the FBI’s Cyber’s Most Wanted list.
Cybercrimes are a national security threat to the United States, and the Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program, established by Congress in 2013, is one of many tools used by U.S. authorities to dismantle transnational criminal organizations and bring significant cybercriminals to justice. The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) manages the program in coordination with other U.S. federal agencies.
More information about Yakubets is available on the TOC Rewards Program website at www.state.gov/inl-rewards-program. Anyone with information on this individual should contact the FBI via the Major Case Contact Center at 1-800-CALLFBI (225-5324), or the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. You may also submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov. All information will be kept strictly confidential.
Press may send inquiries on the TOC Rewards Program to INL-PAPD@state.gov. Follow INL on Twitter at @StateINL.