The Justice Department on Thursday announced criminal charges against seven Russian intelligence officers, accusing them in a sprawling indictment of hacking, wire fraud, identity theft and money laundering as part of an effort to distract from Russia’s state-sponsored doping program. The hackers, who are part of the notorious Fancy Bear group, also targeted the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in the Hague, which was investigating the Novichok nerve agent used on Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the UK in March, along with an alleged chemical attack in Syria by Russian-backed government forces. Three of the defendants were also charged in the hacking of US persons involved in the 2016 election, Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division John Demers said during a news conference, but the current indictment does not arise out of special counsel Robert Mueller’s work. CLOSE

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and then Russian Defense Minister Sergey Ivanov, right, visit new headquarters of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (GRU) in Moscow, Russia, on Nov. 8, 2006. Each defendant is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud and abuse, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, both of which carry a maximum sentence of 20 years. Thursday’s charges followed the July indictment of 12 Russian military intelligence officers who were charged in a far-reaching hacking scheme that targeted the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.
The U.S. Justice Department announces indictments of seven Russian GRU intelligence officers for hacking computers associated with 250 athletes and anti-doping sports organizations in the USA and around the world.