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Czech police arrested Russian citizen Yevgeniy Aleksandrovich Nikulin in Prague on October 5, 2016, after exchanging information with the FBI and acting pursuant to an INTERPOL notice/request. The Czech release described him as suspected of hacking U.S. targets; later U.S. prosecution records named LinkedIn, Dropbox, and Formspring. A jury found him guilty in 2020, and the U.S. Department of Justice reported that he was sentenced to 88 months in prison.
Who was the Russian hacker arrested in Prague?
Nikulin was a Russian citizen arrested by Czech officials in Prague. The Czech Police announcement, published October 18, 2016, said he was apprehended in a central Prague hotel after information was exchanged with the FBI. The Czech release did not identify him by name or specify the systems he was suspected of targeting. Those details came later in U.S. charging and court proceedings.
The Czech account said Nikulin was surprised by the arrest and did not resist. After being detained, he collapsed, received first aid, and was taken to hospital. The Prague Municipal Court ordered him into custody. These are details of the arrest, not findings about the later computer-crime charges. Czech Police: arrest announcement.
Why did Czech police and the FBI arrest him?
At the time, Czech police described Nikulin as suspected of hacking targets in the United States. The later U.S. indictment alleged unauthorized access to computers at LinkedIn, Dropbox, and Formspring; obtaining information; damaging some computers; using employee credentials; and conspiring with others to traffic stolen Formspring credentials. An indictment is an accusation, not proof. U.S. Department of Justice: extradition and charges.
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The legal stages matter: the arrest involved suspicion, the indictment stated allegations, and a jury later returned a guilty verdict. The jury’s 2020 verdict, as described by DOJ, found Nikulin guilty of hacking LinkedIn, Dropbox, and Formspring, damaging computers, stealing employee credentials, and selling or conspiring to sell stolen data. U.S. Department of Justice: verdict and sentence.
Was the arrest connected to the DNC hack?
No. Contemporary U.S. law-enforcement officials said the arrest was unrelated to the Democratic National Committee and other political-organization hacks. The case that proceeded in court concerned alleged intrusions at LinkedIn, Dropbox, and Formspring—not the separate 2016 election-hacking cases. The Washington Post: contemporary report on the arrest.
What is an INTERPOL Red Notice?
A Red Notice is a request to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition. It is not an international arrest warrant: INTERPOL cannot compel a country to arrest someone, and each member country determines the notice’s legal effect under its own laws. In Nikulin’s case, Czech police acted pursuant to the notice/request; INTERPOL itself did not carry out the arrest. INTERPOL Washington: what a Red Notice means.
What happened after Nikulin was arrested?
- November 2016: The United States submitted an official extradition request to the Czech government. DOJ’s extradition account.
- March 29, 2018: The Czech justice minister ordered Nikulin’s extradition to the United States.
- March 30, 2018: Nikulin appeared in federal court after extradition and pleaded not guilty at that initial stage, DOJ reported. DOJ’s extradition account.
- July 10, 2020: A federal jury found Nikulin guilty of the offenses described in DOJ’s account of the verdict. DOJ’s verdict account.
- September 30, 2020: DOJ reported that Nikulin was sentenced to 88 months in prison. DOJ’s sentencing announcement.
What the FBI said about international cooperation
In a statement reported by The Washington Post, the FBI said: “As cyber crime can originate anywhere in the world, international cooperation is crucial to successfully defeat cyber adversaries.” The quotation is attributed to the FBI as reported by the newspaper. The Washington Post’s report.
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