WASHINGTON: The United States unsealed an indictment on Tuesday charging two Russian nationals with deploying Lockbit ransomware against companies and groups around the world, the Department of Justice announced.
The indictment was made public as US, UK and other international law enforcement partners gathered in London to announce the disruption of the notorious Lockbit cybercrime gang, which has targeted over 2,000 victims worldwide, received more than $120 million in ransom payments and demanded hundreds of millions of dollars, the department said.
The UK National Crime Agency Cyber Division, with the US Department of Justice, the FBI and other law enforcement seized control of websites used by Lockbit in a rare international operation, the gang and US and UK authorities said.
“Working alongside partners in the United Kingdom and around the world, we have now destroyed the online backbone of the Lockbit group, one of the world’s most prolific ransomware gangs,” Deputy US Attorney General Lisa Monaco said. “But our work does not stop here: together with our partners we are turning the tables on Lockbit — providing decryption keys, unlocking victim data and pursuing Lockbit’s criminal affiliates around the globe.”
Obtained in New Jersey, the unsealed indictment charges Artur Sungatov and Ivan Kondratyev, also known as Bassterlord, with using Lockbit ransomware to target victims in manufacturing, logistics, insurance and other companies in five states and Puerto Rico, as well as in semiconductor and other industries around the world.
Additional criminal charges against Kondratyev were unsealed on Tuesday related to his use of ransomware in 2020 against a victim in California, the Justice department said.
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US indicts two Russian nationals in Lockbit cybercrime gang bust
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US indicts two Russian nationals in Lockbit cybercrime gang bust
- The UK National Crime Agency Cyber Division, with the US Department of Justice, the FBI and other law enforcement seized control of websites used by Lockbit
- “We have now destroyed the online backbone of the Lockbit group,” Deputy US Attorney General Lisa
Over 3,000 migrants died in 2025 trying to reach Spain: aid group
- More than 3,000 migrants died while trying to reach Spain this year, a report released by a Spanish migration rights group said on Monday
MADRID: More than 3,000 migrants died while trying to reach Spain this year, a report released by a Spanish migration rights group said on Monday, a sharp decline from 2024 as the number of attempted crossings fell.
Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders) said most of the 3,090 deaths recorded until December 15 took place on the Atlantic migration route from Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands, considered one of the world’s most dangerous.
While there has been a “significant” decrease in migrant arrivals in the Canaries, “a new, more distant and more dangerous” route to the archipelago has emerged with departures from Guinea, it said.
The group compiles its figures from families of migrants and official statistics of those rescued. It included 437 children and 192 women among the dead.
Caminando Fronteras also noted there had been a rise in the number of boats leaving from Algeria, mainly to the holiday islands of Ibiza and Formentera in the Mediterranean.
Traditionally used by Algerians, the route is seeing a surge of migrants from Somalia, Sudan, and South Sudan in 2025, the group said.
The number of deaths on this route had doubled this year to 1,037 when compared to 2024, it added.
At least 10,457 migrants died or disappeared while trying to reach Spain by sea in 2024, according to Caminando Fronteras, the highest number recorded since it began tracking data in 2007.
Spain’s interior ministry says 35,935 migrants reached Spain until December 15 this year, a 40-percent decrease from the same period last year.
Nearly half of them came through the Atlantic migration route from the coast of West Africa to the Canary Islands.
Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders) said most of the 3,090 deaths recorded until December 15 took place on the Atlantic migration route from Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands, considered one of the world’s most dangerous.
While there has been a “significant” decrease in migrant arrivals in the Canaries, “a new, more distant and more dangerous” route to the archipelago has emerged with departures from Guinea, it said.
The group compiles its figures from families of migrants and official statistics of those rescued. It included 437 children and 192 women among the dead.
Caminando Fronteras also noted there had been a rise in the number of boats leaving from Algeria, mainly to the holiday islands of Ibiza and Formentera in the Mediterranean.
Traditionally used by Algerians, the route is seeing a surge of migrants from Somalia, Sudan, and South Sudan in 2025, the group said.
The number of deaths on this route had doubled this year to 1,037 when compared to 2024, it added.
At least 10,457 migrants died or disappeared while trying to reach Spain by sea in 2024, according to Caminando Fronteras, the highest number recorded since it began tracking data in 2007.
Spain’s interior ministry says 35,935 migrants reached Spain until December 15 this year, a 40-percent decrease from the same period last year.
Nearly half of them came through the Atlantic migration route from the coast of West Africa to the Canary Islands.
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