U.S. authorities have charged two Ukrainians in an audacious, multiyear scheme to hack into the database of the U.S. securities regulator and use unreleased corporate news releases to make illegal stock trades.
Artem Radchenko, 27, and Oleksandr Ieremenko, 26, were charged with securities fraud, wire fraud, and other charges in a 16-count indictment unsealed on January 15.
Both men were reported to be in Kyiv.
The scheme was first revealed in 2017 by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which regulates U.S. stock markets.
According to the U.S. criminal complaint, the scheme, which netted $100 million in illegal profits, involved hacking into a database run by the Securities and Exchange Commission between February 2016 and March 2017.
The hackers gained access to thousands of corporate news releases before they were published and then used the stolen information to make money through illegal insider trades on top company stocks.
Authorities said the group gave the hackers "shopping lists" of releases they wanted to see in advance, including ones with financial results, and then traded the stocks.
The hackers were routinely paid a cut of the profits.
Another Ukrainian was sentenced in 2017 to 30 months in a U.S. prison as part of the scheme.
Editors' Picks
Top Trending
1
In Russia's War Economy, The Warning Lights Are Blinking
2RFE/RL Reveals Chilling New Details Of Bucha Massacre As Ukraine Marks 1,000 Days Of War
3Putin Says Russia Fired New Intermediate Missile At Ukraine After ICBM Accusations
4Steps Too Far As Moscow, Washington Cross 'Red Lines' Over Ukraine?
5Wider Europe Briefing: Georgia's Vanishing EU Dreams
6Ukraine Live Briefing: Kyiv Loses 40 Percent Of Land Held In Russia's Kursk Region, Says Military Source
7Dutch Deliver Final 2 F-16 Jets, As Germany, U.S. Set New Ukraine Aid Packages
8The Far-Right Firebrand Too Dangerous To Run For Romania's Presidency
9Russia Says Ukraine Used ATACMS Against Military Target In Bryansk
10Danish Military Keeps Watch On Chinese Ship Suspected Of Baltic Cable Sabotage
RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.
If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.
To find out more, click here.
