Know Why This Russian Hacker Arrested In Israel Is Now Deported By US To Moscow

A Russian man who was imprisoned in the United States for cybercrime has been repatriated to Russia, according to officials on Tuesday.

Aleksei Burkov, 31, was placed on a commercial flight out of New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on Monday, according to ICE spokesperson Dani Bennett.

According to Russia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, Burkov was apprehended by Russian police after arriving at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport on Tuesday. Burkov is accused in Russia of bank card fraud and trading personal financial data, which reportedly occurred between 2008 and 2015, according to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs spokesperson Irina Volk.

Aleksei Burkov was working for international criminals and facilitated $20 million in credit card theft. After pleading guilty in federal court in Virginia last year, he was sentenced to nine years in jail.

Burkov was taken back to Russia on a commercial airline on Monday, according to Dani Bennett, a spokesman for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Burkov, she added, was wanted in Russia for attempting to steal and producing and selling counterfeit credit cards.

Burkov was detained in Israel in 2015 at the request of the United States and spent several years in detention there while the Russian government filed its extradition request. He landed in the United States in 2019. His sentence of nine years in prison includes credit for time spent in Israel.

According to a New York attorney who has represented a number of high-profile Russian speakers accused of cybercrime, this is exceedingly unusual and suggests Burkov may be involved in some form of a prisoner swap.

“After 20 years of work, I can assure you that I have never seen that kind of scenario,” said Bukh, unless the Russian government truly wants that individual back and is willing to deliver someone or anything that the US want in exchange.

He pointed out that the US and Russia do not have a treaty, as many friendly countries do, that allows offenders to serve out their terms in the other country.

Officials in Israel believe Russia requested Burkov’s release in exchange for Naama Issachar, an Israeli woman sentenced to seven years in prison in Moscow on marijuana charges. She was released after being pardoned by Russian President Putin about a week after pleading guilty in the United States.

Burkov’s indictment in Russia raised eyebrows because it came two years after his detention in Israel.

Burkov, from St. Petersburg, Russia, ran the CardPlanet website, which sold credit card details obtained through computer hacking. Prosecutors claimed that a second website, Direct Connection, served as an invitation-only club where members could buy and sell stolen credit-card details, hacking services, and malware, and crooks of all skill levels could join forces.