Russia’s FSB Charges Scientist with Treason for Sending Crypto to Ukraine
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has accused a Moscow-based scientist of treason for allegedly transferring cryptocurrency to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Scientist Detained by FSB
According to an official FSB statement and a report by Vedomosti, the agency has detained an unnamed employee of a Moscow scientific organization. The FSB alleges that this scientist regularly sent his personal funds and cryptocurrency to wallets controlled by the Ukrainian military.
The FSB’s press release highlighted that the suspect also participated in Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks against critical Russian infrastructure. DDoS attacks involve overwhelming servers with excessive traffic, often leading to website crashes or accessibility issues for users.
Details of the Allegations
The FSB has not disclosed the amount or type of cryptocurrency involved in these transactions. Additionally, the names of the scientific institution where the suspect worked and the critical Russian infrastructure targeted in the DDoS attacks remain undisclosed.
Russian law categorizes this crime as “high treason,” as reported on August 22. The FSB claims the scientist made contact with Ukrainian special services and, following their instructions, conducted DDoS attacks on important Russian facilities. The agency also accused him of collecting information on Russian military personnel and equipment movement.
Confession and Custody
The FSB stated that the scientist has confessed to the charges and is currently held in custody as a preventive measure. Since the beginning of the conflict with Ukraine, the FSB has charged multiple individuals with treason for allegedly supporting Kyiv. In 2023, a resident of Khabarovsk Krai faced crypto-related treason charges. Additionally, Sberbank reported that over $5 million worth of cryptocurrency was transferred from Russian wallets to Ukrainian recipients since the war began.
A source within the Ukrainian crypto industry, who requested anonymity, noted that cryptocurrency usage is increasingly prevalent in both Russia and Ukraine.
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