As Vladislav Klyushin’s cybersecurity scam grows, raising more than $93 million in less than three years, the FBI is stepping up its investigation to uncover his frauds.
Klyushin became incredibly wealthy by owning a Moscow-based cybersecurity company called M-13, which was a front for his real business: stealing corporate earnings reports before they were released and trading on the information. This cybersecurity scam targeted well-known American companies such as Skechers, Snapchat, and Roku.
The FBI and US prosecutors had enough evidence to catch him, but they also had one major obstacle: As a Russian citizen living in Russia, there was no way the country would extradite him. Legally, the oligarch was out of reach.
Vladislav Klyushin, the head of an information technology company with ties to the Russian government, is pictured in an undated photo attached to a U.S. Justice Department document.
U.S. Department of Justice | via Reuters
CNBC’s new original podcast series, “Crimes of Putin’s Trader,” takes you inside the mission to put Klyushin behind bars. CNBC’s senior Washington correspondent Eamon Javers interviews FBI agents, prosecutors and even Russian spies to reveal the shocking details of this massive criminal enterprise and the broader threat it poses to American businesses, investors and markets.
The third episode of the podcast details how Klyushin made a critical mistake that ultimately led to the involvement of U.S. law enforcement.
Klyushin used his illegally earned money to maintain a lavish lifestyle, sparing no expense: buying luxury sports cars, luxury apartments for his partners in crime, and a yacht worth nearly $4 million. As Klyushin became wealthier, he wanted more, and it was his desire to travel that ultimately got him into trouble.
“I think when you make that much money in a short period of time, you get reckless, you want to spend it properly, you want to enjoy life,” U.S. Attorney Stephen Frank told Javers. “You want to enjoy the fruits of your criminal activity.”
In March 2021, investigators discovered that Klyushin had chartered a private jet to fly from Moscow to Switzerland, where a helicopter was waiting to take him straight to the slopes to go skiing. U.S. authorities, working with the Swiss Federal Police, devised a plan to intercept him when he arrived.
The latest episode of the original podcast series takes listeners on a journey to the scene of the crime, right up until the moment Klyushin steps off the plane in Switzerland, completely unaware of his fatal mistake.
“It’s a breathtaking moment,” Frank said. “You literally have to hold your breath to see how this is going to unfold and whether we’re going to catch him in the end.”
Listen to “Putin’s Trader’s Crimes” now.
