JRL NEWSWATCH: “U.S. Catches Kremlin Insider Who May Have Secrets of 2016 Hack” – Bloomberg

“IT executive Vladislav Klyushin’s journey into U.S. custody is a blow to the Kremlin, say people familiar with a Russian intelligence assessment of what he may have to offer”

Bloomberg reports on the extradition from Switzerland to the United States of Russian tech tycoon Vladislav Klyushin, the highest-level Kremlin insider falling into the hands of U.S. law enforcement in recent history. Within the past two years, Putin awarded Klyushin a medal of honor. In his U.S. prosecution, Klyushin is accused of hacking corporate-earnings information then using it to engage in insider trading, illegally making tens of millions of dollars. His cybersecurity work and ties to the upper echelons of Russian government could make him a useful information source.

“… [According to Moscow sources] close to the Kremlin and security services, Russian intelligence [has] concluded that Klyushin, 41, has access to documents relating to a Russian campaign to hack Democratic Party servers during the 2016 U.S. election. … [documents that would] establish [that] the hacking was led by a … GRU military intelligence [unit] … dubbed ‘Fancy Bear’ or APT28 [by U.S. cybersecurity experts]. Such a cache [reportedly] would provide the U.S. for the first time with detailed documentary evidence of the alleged Russian efforts to influence the election …. His transfer to the U.S. represents a serious intelligence blow to the Kremlin, several [sources] said, one that would deepen if Klyushin decides to seek leniency … by providing information ….”

Click here for: “U.S. Catches Kremlin Insider Who May Have Secrets of 2016 Hack; IT executive Vladislav Klyushin’s journey into U.S. custody is a blow to the Kremlin, say people familiar with a Russian intelligence assessment of what he may have to offer” – Bloomberg/ Henry Meyer, Irina Reznik, Hugo Miller, Christian Berthelsen, Andrey Biryukov, Jenny Leonard, Carey Goldberg