Five Key ZeuS Fraud Suspects Arrested in Ukraine

Ukrainian authorities arrested five suspects earlier this week for their involvement in fraud schemes centered around the ZeuS computer trojan, which led to over $70 million being stolen.

The arrests were the result of an international operation called "Trident Breach," which saw the participation of the FBI, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the Netherlands Police Agency and UK's Metropolitan Police Service (the Scotland Yard).

The investigation concerned 390 cases in which fraudsters using a sophisticated banking trojan called ZeuS or ZBot, attempted to steal $220 millions from the accounts of consumers, businesses and public institutions.

In US the authorities concentrated on a network of money mules, people paid to open fake bank accounts and move stolen money around.

So far, 92 money mules and recruiters have been charged and 39 of them were arrested. A number of those charged are believed to have already left the country.

Twenty people were also arrested on Tuesday in UK for involvement in this fraud network. Eleven of them have been officially charged.

In a press release issued yesterday, the FBI calls the five suspects arrested on September 30 in Ukraine, "key subjects responsible for this overarching scheme."

In addition to taking the unnamed fraudsters into custody, fifty officers from the SBU and tactical police teams executed eight search warrants.

"During this investigation, the FBI worked closely with our overseas counterparts to identify subjects who were instrumental in the development and control of the malicious software, those who facilitated the use of malware, and those who saw a means to make quick, easy money — the mules," said Assistant Director Gordon M. Snow of the FBI’s Cyber Division.

"The skill, dedication, and expansive cooperation provided by our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners in the U.S. and in the Netherlands, Ukraine, and United Kingdom were crucial to the success of this effort," he added.