Garland backed the new indictment amid a series of actions by the Justice Department against the Russian regime at a news conference Wednesday. He also announced that a botnet controlled by the Russian military intelligence service known as the GRU had been shut down. In addition, the Ministry of Justice assists in gathering evidence of possible war crimes prosecutions related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “I spoke personally with the Attorney General of the Ministry of Justice in Paris, who met with a French war crimes prosecutor,” Garland said. “The day before, prosecutors in the criminal division met with prosecutors from Eurojust and Europol to work out a plan to gather evidence about Ukraine. on the atrocities that took place in Ukraine “. Garland noted the “horrific images” that have recently come from Ukraine. “People see what is happening in Ukraine. The Ministry of Justice sees what is happening in Ukraine. This department has a long history of helping to hold accountable those who commit war crimes,” he said.
Garland says ministry sends ‘message’ to Russian regime
The charges against Malofeyev were filed in the Southern District of New York and were the first criminal prosecutions by the Ministry of Justice against a Russian oligarch since Russia invaded Ukraine, Monaco told a news conference. In a press release revealing the indictment, FBI Assistant Director Michael Driscoll accused Malofeyev of playing a “leading role in supporting Russia’s invasion of eastern Ukraine in 2014” and said that Malofeyev “continues to run a propaganda network in his favor.” “Putin recently described the Russian military’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 as a ‘holy war.’ In addition to allegations of breach of sanctions, the ministry said it had seized Malofeyev funds held in a US bank account. The new indictment links Malofeyev to an American television producer who has previously been accused of allegedly violating US sanctions linked to Russia’s takeover of Crimea. Garland advertises the new charges along with the discontinuation of the GRU botnet, which is a bot that can hack and steal information. “The Russian government has recently used similar infrastructure to attack Ukrainian targets,” Garland said. “Fortunately, we were able to shut down this botnet before it could be used. Thanks to our close collaboration with international partners, we were able to detect the infection of thousands of network hardware devices.” The new actions come in addition to a yacht – owned by another Kremlin-linked oligarch facing sanctions – Victor Wexelberg – seized earlier this week. In addition, Garland said on Wednesday, the Justice Department, in coordination with German law enforcement partners, had seized the “Russian-linked dark network of the Hydra network – the world’s largest illegal market in the dark web.” According to Garland, charges were brought against a Russian national who allegedly managed the technical infrastructure of the market. Monaco said the Hydra stock market facilitates the purchase and sale of an “amazing variety” of illegal goods in Russian-speaking countries. Garland promised that the Ministry “will continue to work with our international partners to bring to justice those who violate our laws, threaten our national security and harm our allies.” “Our message to those who continue to allow the Russian regime through their criminal behavior is this: It does not matter how far you sail your yacht. It does not matter how well you hide your assets. “It does not matter how cleverly you write malware or hide your online activity,” Garland said. “The Ministry of Justice will use every available tool to find you, disrupt your conspiracies and hold you accountable.”
