The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has officially informed the Russian Consulate General on the detainment of six more Russians involved in a large-scale banking fraud case, a Russian vice consul said.
"The FBI sent a notification on Monday on the detainment of six more Russian citizens. They are Marina Misyura, Dmitry Saprunov, Kasum Adigyuzelov, Sabina Rafikova, Yulia Klepikova, Anton Yuferitsyn," Alexander Otchainov said.
The Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said on Friday that a total of 25 Russians had been charged in a large-scale banking fraud case in the United States.
The FBI, however, officially notified the Russian diplomats last Friday on the detainment of five Russian nationals, which with Monday's notification brings the total number of the officially detained suspects to 11.
The Russians are believed to have been involved in a global cyber crime scheme that resulted in over $3 million being stolen from U.S. bank accounts. Charges brought against them include conspiracy to commit bank fraud, money laundering and passport fraud.
Prosecutors said most of the detainees had been used by East European hackers as "money mules" to open bank accounts later used to receive and transfer the stolen funds. They may face up to 30 years in prison as well as fines of up to $1 million.
The fraudulent scheme used the Zeus Trojan virus. When computer users clicked on a link or opened an attached file, malware was activated, which noted usernames and passwords that the victims typed on infected computers, the FBI said.
NEW YORK, October 5 (RIA Novosti)
