Swiss court sentences 52-year-old Ukrainian ransomware dev to nearly 13 years in the cooler
The man allegedly wrote the code that powered the Lockergoga, MegaCortex, and Nefilim operations
A 52-year-old Ukrainian ransomware developer from Switzerland has been sentenced to 12 years and nine months in prison by Zurich District Court. The court found that he developed LockerGoga, MegaCortex, and Nefilim ransomware, but did not orchestrate the attacks. He was also banned from Switzerland for ten years. The judgment is not final and can be appealed.
The developer, identified as Volodymyr Tymoshchuk, denied knowing his software was used for criminal purposes and claimed the source code came from his consulting work. However, the court dismissed this explanation, citing extortion messages in his data. He was convicted of his role in ransomware attacks on companies like Stadler Rail, Meier Tobler, and Crealogix, causing estimated losses of several hundred million Swiss francs.
Tymoshchuk is also facing a US indictment for masterminding at least three ransomware crews responsible for attacks on over 1,800 entities in 71 countries.
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