succeeded in identifying King Arthur as A* G*, a man in his early twenties living in the Russian republic of Dagestan. G. was taking in millions of dollars from Citibank phishing and other scams with the aid of numerous U.S. accomplices, according to Postal Service documents.[...]
If we get him, that will show everyone how serious the Russian government is. It could change everything[...]
“The FSB is dealing with him. They know who he is,” he said, trying to sound reassuring as he brought up the spy agency that was the greatest power in the country. “Well, then, the FSB can go to Dagestan,” Andy said. But he sensed this wasn’t going to work out. “They aren’t interested in him right now,” the MVD agent shrugged, signaling an end to the subject.
What they didn’t tell Andy was that Dept. K operatives had already tried to get King Arthur. They had prepared a report and sent it to the MVD Investigative Committee, asking the elite squad to conduct interviews and make an arrest. The committee never pursued the case. Andy also brought up the issue with I.Y., his closest MVD friend. “Why won’t anyone arrest King Arthur?” he asked. The politically savvy Igor shrugged, said he didn’t know, and gave the all-purpose explanation Andy had heard most of the days he had been in the country. “Eta Rossiya.” It is Russia. [...]
“So the only reason it goes nowhere is, he’s protected by someone.” [...]
Worst of all was the Russian Business Network, Andy learned. By following the trail from the denial-of-service hackers, he realized, he had come as near to the infamous RBN as anyone in the West, perhaps within a steel door’s thickness of a close affiliate. Now Andy began to doubt that anyone would ever get that close again.[...] [Anmerkung: Bei einer Hausdurchsuchung standen die Ermittler vor einer Türe, die sie nicht öffnen konnten - offenbar direkt vor der Zentrale des RBN. Bis die Türe geöffnet wurde, waren die Server weg...]
...the group enjoyed some kind of special protection. A key figure in the group called himself Flyman and might have been the world’s largest supplier of child pornography. But he was off-limits to police, [...] reported that a senior MVD investigator told her in Moscow in 2006 that his efforts to arrest Flyman “met forceful, official resistance. Flyman’s father is an influential St. Petersburg politician who used his leverage and money to persuade law enforcement authorities to prevent do-gooders from pursuing the case.”
