Cybersecurity CEO Arrested in Russia on Treason Charges

Group-IB boss faces 20-year jail term if found guilty

Ilya Sachkov, the outspoken CEO of Russian cybersecurity firm Group-IB, has been arrested on state treason charges.

Moscow’s Lefortovo court ordered the 35-year-old, who is said to spend most of his time at the company’s headquarters in Singapore, to be held in custody for two months.

During this time, the firm’s leadership will pass to co-founder Dmitry Volkov, according to a brief statement from Group-IB.

The security firm claimed operations would continue as usual while its lawyers digest the court’s statement.

“Group-IB’s team is confident in the innocence of the company’s CEO and his business integrity,” it said. “Group-IB’s communications team refrains from commenting on the charges brought and the circumstances of the criminal case due to the ongoing procedural activities.”

Yesterday, the firm also revealed that police had searched its Moscow office on Tuesday.

“Law enforcement officers left Group-IB’s office at night the same day. Group-IB’s communications team also said that the reason for the search was not yet clear, but noted that all the company’s offices around the world continued providing support to customers and partners as usual,” it explained.

Reports suggest Sachkov, who President Putin has awarded for his cybersecurity work in the past, was arrested on suspicion of conspiring with foreign intelligence services. Such charges are said to carry a sentence of 20 years behind bars.

However, the real reason is unclear. The prominent Russian businessman joins a long list of journalists, military personnel, government officials, scientists and others accused of treason in recent years.

He has been blunt in the past about Russia’s harboring of cyber-criminals within its borders — an issue taken up with enthusiasm by the Biden administration.