Spain Arrests 'Russian Hacker Wanted by the U.S.'

The Russian embassy in Madrid has reported the arrest of a citizen named Pyotr Levashov in Barcelona, Spain, with his wife stating that he was detained in connection with allegations of Russian interference in the U.S. elections. According to Reuters, the reason for the arrest of this Russian citizen has not been specified. The spokesperson for the Russian embassy in Spain declined to provide further details about the arrest, and the police and the Spanish Ministry of the Interior have not released information regarding the reasons for his detention. The Russian television network RT reported that Pyotr Levashov was arrested based on an international warrant issued by the U.S. government and is suspected of involvement in cyberattacks related to Russian interference in last year's U.S. presidential elections. Peter Carr, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Justice's criminal division, stated, 'This case is still confidential, and at this point, we are not releasing any information on it.' The criminal division operates separately from U.S. national security agencies and is responsible for cybercrime cases. A Justice Department official indicated that this case is a criminal matter and apparently does not relate to national security. The Russian embassy's spokesperson in Madrid said the Spanish government informed them of the arrest of this Russian citizen on Friday. In January, Spanish police also arrested another Russian citizen named 'Lisov,' who was a computer programmer and was wanted by U.S. authorities for leading a financial fraud network. Reuters recalls that the U.S. government has officially accused Russia of organized cyberattacks on the Democratic Party's computer network to aid Donald Trump, the Republican candidate. The U.S. Congress is currently investigating contacts between Donald Trump's associates and Russian government officials. Russian officials, including Vladimir Putin, have repeatedly denied their country's interference to influence the results of the U.S. presidential elections. Meanwhile, the Associated Press also confirmed the arrest of this Russian citizen through an unnamed member of the Spanish parliament. According to the parliamentary spokesperson, his arrest was made based on a warrant issued by U.S. authorities. The arrest of Pyotr Levashov quickly made headlines, as his wife stated in an interview with RT that this arrest was related to allegations of Russian interference on the day of the U.S. presidential election. She claimed in the interview that her husband, during a phone call from prison, said he was accused of designing malware 'related to Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election.' Pyotr Levashov is a well-known name in cybercrime. According to Brian Krebs, a journalist who has conducted extensive research on underground Russian cybercrime, he is known by the alias Peter Saur and leads one of the largest spam-producing criminal groups or malware distributors. News agencies have not yet been able to make direct contact with Pyotr Levashov, and officials have not indicated whether he has access to legal representation. The U.S. embassy in Spain also declined to comment on this matter. The Russian embassy has not provided further details aside from announcing the arrest of its citizen and has not even confirmed that he is a computer programmer. This embassy did not comment on the warrant issued by the U.S. government. A spokesperson for the Spanish government stated that Pyotr Levashov is still in custody.