Armenia Detains Russian Tourist on U.S. Warrant for REvil Hacker, Lawyers Say Wrong Man

Armenia has detained a Russian national, Aleksandr Ermakov, based on a U.S. extradition request related to alleged involvement in REvil (Sodinokibi) ransomware attacks. However, his legal team claims authorities have mistaken him for another individual with the same name—Aleksandr Gennadievich Ermakov—who was sanctioned in 2024 for cybercriminal activity including the Medibank data breach. The accused individual in custody, Aleksandr Yuryevich Ermakov, is a former prison-service lawyer with no known English proficiency, and lawyers argue insufficient identification was used for the arrest. The confusion stems from identical names and lack of patronymic or biometric verification in the extradition process.

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