The US had extradited a Russian tech tycoon Vladislav Klyushin on December 18. Days before Christmas, Boston officials unveiled insider trading charges against Klyushin. Klyushin has been accused of illegally making tens of millions of dollars trading on hacked corporate-earnings information.
A startling depiction of the detainee emerged as investigators lay out their securities fraud case: Not only was Klyushin a suspected insider trader, but he was also a Kremlin insider. He was the CEO of an information technology firm that works with Russian government officials at the highest levels. Klyushin had won a medal of honour from Russian President Vladimir Putin only 18 months before. The US had the highest-ranking Kremlin insider handed up to US law enforcement in recent memory in its custody. According to many persons acquainted with Russian intelligence matters, Klyushin's cybersecurity expertise and Kremlin contacts might make him a viable source of information for US officials. Most importantly, they argued, if he chooses to cooperate, he might provide Americans with their best look yet at the 2016 election meddling.
Vladislav Klyushin's Moscow-based cybersecurity firm's work with the Russian government, as well as Klyushin's alleged relationship with an ex-Russian GRU military intelligence officer, will likely be of great interest to the US law enforcement and intelligence officials, according to former Justice Department and Homeland Security officials.
Klyushin and four other Russian men have been charged with an extensive insider trading conspiracy that includes hacking into companies that Tesla and other corporations used to file Securities and Exchange Commission reports, according to US authorities.
US authorities accuse Klyushin, Ermakov, and their co-conspirators of making tens of millions of dollars on stock trades by gaining access to non-public financial documents.
Former US deputy assistant attorney general Kellen Dwyer said Klyushin appeared to be a potential target for US investigators.
Christopher Krebs, former head of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency told CNN, “This is a big get for a few reasons: If he flips, he may be able to confirm the intelligence community's findings about Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 election.” Even if Klyushin doesn't cooperate, Krebs said, a conviction on the charges of securities fraud could send “a strong signal to others like him that they don't have a whole lot of freedom of movement outside Russia,” Krebs said.
Oliver Ciric, Klyushin's attorney in Switzerland, told Bloomberg News he has no idea what, if any, documentation his client may have. In an interview, Ciric said that US investigators are looking for his client because they believe he has inside information on Russia's 2016 election hacking that he could share in exchange for avoiding decades in prison on insider trading charges. Klyushin claims he is innocent of insider trading and "hypothetical electoral tampering," according to Ciric.
In a bail application, Klyushin's lawyer in the United States, Maksim Nemtsev, stated that his client "intends to challenge the government's case in a legitimate, professional, and principled manner." Klyushin appeared in federal court in Boston via video link from jail on Monday and spoke through an interpreter.
