Hackers bribe Russian official with millions in Bitcoin

A Russian official reportedly took more than 1,000 Bitcoin as a bribe to cover up the criminal activities of a hacker group.

A Russian official allegedly took millions in bribes from hackers. This reports the Russian daily Kommersant. The accused is a department head of the national anti-corruption agency (ICR).

As Kommersant writes, Marat T. demanded money from cybercriminals in the course of his investigation against the hacker group "Infraud Organization." In exchange, he waived confiscation of the stolen assets.

In total, he received just over 1,032 Bitcoin (US$26.6 million). In the course of the corruption charges against the investigator, law enforcement agencies eventually stumbled upon a MacBook Pro with photos of his seed phrases on it. A short time later, they discovered the Bitcoin.

The coins were seized and are in a hardware wallet in the evidence room. Police are now investigating Marat T. The anti-corruption agency has terminated his employment contract.

In general, Russia suffers from a huge corruption problem. In an international comparison the country is in last third place.