The Federal Security Service has completed its investigation into the case of Ilya Sachkov, the founder of Group-IB, a company specializing in information security and cybercrime. This was reported by RIA Novosti citing a source.
“The investigation of this criminal case has been completed,” said the agency’s interlocutor, without providing further details on the proceedings.
Sachkov was detained in Moscow in September 2021. He is charged under Art. 275 of the Criminal Code (treason), for which he was sentenced to up to 20 years in prison. The materials of the case have been classified, and there is no data on what exactly Sachkov was arrested. On the day of his arrest, FSB investigators came to search Group-IB’s office, with eyewitnesses saying that the most striking was the office of the company’s founder. The blame was brought to Sachkov as an individual, and not as the general director of the company.
Sachkov, now 36, founded Group-IB with classmate Dmitry Volkov at the age of 17. Initially, it was an institution to investigate high-tech crimes and fraud using information technology. Over time, it has grown into an international company that has become one of the leaders in the field of investigation and combating cybercrime. In 2018, Group-IB headquarters moved from Moscow to Singapore with senior management. The firm’s offices are also located in Dubai, Amsterdam, Moscow and Tatarstan.
Group-IB’s clients included Russian state-owned companies, large banks, online services and media conglomerates. Sachkov has met with Vladimir Putin three times, has repeatedly spoken in the State Duma, the government, the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Council of Europe.
Bloomberg, citing the entrepreneur’s circle in December 2021, wrote that Sachkov’s accusation could be related to the Fancy Bears hacker group. It is thought to be linked to Russian special services in the West, and in Washington it has been repeatedly stated that the group works for GRU military intelligence. Allegedly, Sachkov briefed the US authorities about the members of the hacker group and what they did to influence the 2016 presidential election. In Group-IB, this version was called speculation.
Also, the agency reported that Sachkov may have been arrested for his desire to expand his business in Europe and America. In this regard, he actively interacted with the special services and law enforcement agencies of other countries.
Citing the defendant’s circle, Forbes wrote that the arrest may also be related to Sachkov’s press releases against the Russian hacker and the head of the Evil Corp group. Maxim Yakubets. At a meeting in Kazan in 2020 between Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and IT entrepreneurs, Sachkov pointed out that Yakubets is accused of spreading viruses and cyber fraud in various countries. But at the same time, he is roaming freely in Moscow in a Lamborghini, and none of the Russian law enforcement agencies are taking any action. According to the founder of Group-IB, this harms the image of companies in Russia exporting information security.
RBC sources in the information security market reported that the case against Sachkov may have been initiated due to another criminal case in 2016, against Sergey Mihaylov, head of the FSB Center for Information Security (CIS) and Kaspersky Lab employee Ruslan Stoyanov. He was arrested on suspicion of treason. Sachkov later passed as a witness.
Sachkov himself denies guilt. In November 2021, he asked Putin to transfer him to house arrest from the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center, calling the criminal prosecution the “new Dreyfus case”.
“I think this is the new Dreyfus case. I’m not a traitor, I’m not a spy, I’m not a traitor, I’m a Russian engineer. His work has repeatedly proven his usefulness and devotion to his homeland. Entrepreneur asked my President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin to allow me to be under house arrest with maximum restrictions during the investigation. I beg,” he wrote.
Prior to that, he had complained about the conditions of his detention in the pre-trial detention centre, stating that almost no correspondence had reached him.
In December 2021, it was learned that even before Sachkov’s arrest, he recorded a video in case he was detained or killed. He sent the video to several close people, according to Forbes. According to the magazine, the entrepreneur at the registry does not exclude that an attempt can be made on him. He especially mentioned that he was afraid of being poisoned and realized that he was being followed.
Other sources in Sachkov’s circle said that in the last months before his arrest, the founder of Group-IB admitted that a treason case would be brought against him.