A Russian computer hacker who orchestrated a $10 million international credit card fraud will avoid jail and serve only a five-year suspended sentence.
Yevgeny Anikin, 27, was part of a cybercriminal ring that in 2008 hacked into the electronic payment service RBS WorldPay and rigged it to raise customers’ maximum withdrawal limit. Using cloned debit cards, Anikin and his team — in one 12-hour stint — stole $10 million from more than 2,100 ATMs in 280 cities worldwide, according to the security firm Sophos.
Anikin bought two apartments in Russia and a luxury car with the stolen money. He has been under house arrest since 2009.
In court yesterday Monday, Anikin pleaded guilty to the cybercrime and said he had already started to pay back the fraudulent funds.
“I want to say that I repent and fully admit my guilt,” Anikin told the court according to a report from RIA Novosti, Russia's state news agency.
