Vladislav Klyushin made so much money from stealing financial information that his safe was filled with piles of hundred-dollar bills. At one point, he hoarded more than $3 million in ill-gotten gains.
In less than three years, Klyushin’s cybersecurity scams racked up more than $93 million. His company, M-13, acted as a front for Russian hackers to steal information under the guise of protecting it, obtaining U.S. corporate earnings reports before the rest of the world could see them. They then trade on that insight, buying and selling shares of well-known U.S. companies like Skechers, Snapchat and Roku.
Vladislav Klyushin, sentenced to nine years in prison for his $93 million hacking conspiracy. Source: Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office
Source: Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office
Once the M-13 becomes a target TeslaSteal the earnings reports they draft and buy stocks based on historically successful quarters. After the final earnings report was made public, Tesla’s stock price soared, and Klyushin’s team walked away with another large sum of cash.
“(They) broke into these American companies,” said federal prosecutor Steven Frank, who is familiar with the case. “Information is being stolen day in and day out…and then used to trade on that information.”
Klyushin continued to grow his empire until he was on a private jet and shaking hands with Russian government officials. But what the oligarch and his team didn’t know was that the FBI had been watching them – dissecting how the scam worked and determining what they could do to stop it.
The homepage of M-13, a Russian cybersecurity company that is stealing financial information from American companies.
Source: Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office
A former prisoner held by Russian-American journalist Evan Gershkovich smiles as he walks with his mother, Ella Millman, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, Aug. 1, 2024.
Roberto Schmidt | AFP | Getty Images
But Javers said the larger threats to U.S. businesses are not over yet. The case is just the latest example of how markets have become another area where great powers can flex their muscles and undermine rivals.
“This is an ongoing war between Russia and the West,” said an anonymous former member of Russia’s FSB intelligence service. tell javers. “Finance and banking and the financial sector itself is just one of the battlegrounds.”
In the recent CNBC documentary “Putin’s Merchant”, Javers and his team shed light on the ongoing threats to American companies, investors and the market itself. The documentary is accompanied by The Crimes of Putin’s Traders, podcast series Premieres Thursday, August 15th.
“This is about the integrity of U.S. capital markets,” Javers said.
