14 DAY TRIAL // Mohamed Yassine Gharib, a 26-year-old from Morocco, has been arrested by Thai authorities. The man is suspected of stealing millions of dollars from the customers of Swiss banks after hacking into their accounts.
Gharib is said to have entered Thailand four years ago. His Thai girlfriend, Amornrat Hongklad, has also been brought in for questioning.
According to the Chiangrai Times, Thai police issued an arrest warrant in late February after being notified by Swiss police of the suspect’s whereabouts. Immigration police detained Gharib in the lobby of the hotel he was staying at.
Thai PBS reports that the alleged hacker and his pregnant girlfriend have been evading arrest by taking refuge among People’s Democratic Reform Committee protesters.
They had left the hotel where Gharib was arrested, but the man forgot his passport. Police figured that he would eventually return for it, so they waited for him. When he came back for the passport, the Moroccan was arrested.
Authorities in Switzerland believe that Gharib and around 10 others stole around $18 million (€13 million) from the customers of Swiss banks.
Representatives of the police say they’re contacting the Swiss embassy regarding the suspect’s extradition.
It appears that it’s pretty common for individuals wanted for cybercrimes to seek refuge in Thailand. In March, Thai authorities reported arresting Farid Essebar, a 27-year-old Moroccan with Russian citizenship known on the hacking scene as Diabl0.
Essebar is said to have caused damage of around $4 billion (€2.87 billion) by hacking into the computer systems of Swiss banks. Authorities had been tracking him for two years before they made the arrest. He is also awaiting extradition.
In January 2013, Thai police arrested 24-year-old Algerian national Hamza Bendelladj. He was detained at an airport while transiting from Malaysia to Egypt.
Bendelladj – who is believed to have played a critical role in developing, marketing, distributing and operating SpyEye malware – was extradited to the United States in May 2013.
In the US, he has been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, 10 counts of wire fraud, 11 counts of computer fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud. He could spend a lot of time in prison if he’s found guilty.
At the time of Bendelladj’s extradition, FBI representatives highlighted the fact that the agency expanded its international partnerships to ensure that even cybercriminals who hid overseas could be brought to justice.