Russian Hacking Suspect Faces Extradition to U.S. From Spain

By The Moscow Times

July 22, 2014

A St. Petersburg resident who is suspected of selling about $10 million worth of e-tickets that he stole by hacking into users' accounts has been detained in Spain and faces extradition to the United States, Russian media reported Tuesday.

Vadim Polyakov, 30, is being held in custody in Madrid and is awaiting trial, a spokesman for Russia's consulate in the Spanish capital told the Izvestia newspaper.

The Russian consul has visited Polyakov twice, and the consulate has found a lawyer to defend him.

Extraditing Russians to the U.S. has historically caused uproars between the two countries.

Roman Seleznev, the son of a Russian federal lawyer, was arrested in the Maldives in early July on allegations of hacking and fraud and was taken to the U.S. territory of Guam to face trial. Russia considered the maneuver "kidnapping."

Russia's Foreign Ministry said at the time that Seleznev's arrest was "not the first time that the U.S. government, ignoring a bilateral agreement on mutual cooperation regarding criminal issues, has literally kidnapped a Russian citizen."

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