The Philippine DOJ has charged two Russians for stealing $6.2 million in XRP from Coins.ph under the Cybercrime Prevention Act.
Last week, the Philippine Department of Justice disclosed that two Russian nationals had been indicted for stealing 340 million PHP (approximately $6.2 million) in cryptocurrency XRP from the local crypto exchange Coins.ph.
Vladimir Evgenevich Avdeev and Sergey Yaschuck are accused of violating the Cybercrime Prevention Act, as indicated by the allegations filed in the Taguig Regional Trial Court.
Avdeev and Yaschuck, erstwhile consultants of the Philippine crypto exchange Coins.ph under Betur Inc., are purported to have infiltrated the company’s systems and stolen 12.2 million XRP, equivalent to 340 million PHP.
Coins identified the breach.ph due to observing peculiar login activities. The perpetrators were discovered to possess a comprehensive understanding of the network infrastructure and security protocols.
Justice Secretary Jesus Remulla underscored the Department of Justice’s dedication to maintaining the rule of law in cyberspace. Remulla stated, “It is the Department of Justice’s responsibility to guarantee the rule of law is consistently upheld, this encompasses cyberspace.”
He cautioned against cybercriminals’ strategies to exploit technological advancements and emphasized the necessity of maintaining vigilance.
Yaschuck is facing three charges under the same bond conditions, while Avdeev is facing 23 cybercrime charges with bail set at 120,000 PHP for each charge. The suspects allegedly endeavored to conceal the source of the stolen funds and evade detection by laundering them through various cryptocurrency platforms.
This incident underscores the critical importance of cybersecurity and the need for advanced security protocols to safeguard assets, particularly on platforms that contain substantial amounts of cryptocurrency. It emphasizes crypto platforms‘ need to establish more sophisticated security protocols to protect their users’ assets.
Additionally, the crypto exchange BtcTurk was recently targeted, resulting in nearly $55 million in cryptocurrency theft. Losses from crypto-focused breaches and similar incidents have exceeded $629 million in the second quarter of 2024.
