Israel's Justice Minister, Amir Ohana, announced on Wednesday that he had signed the extradition order for Russian hacker Alexei Burkov to the United States.
Both the District Court and the Supreme Court confirmed his extradition to the U.S. , where he is wanted by law enforcement agencies, as he is suspected of various cybercrimes .
According to the minister's statements, "the decision was made after many in-depth discussions with various executives in recent weeks, including political and legal factors."
Burkov recently gave an interview to News 13 from prison, saying, “I support Naama and her family – my family and I are in the same situation. I am also imprisoned as a result of political games. I am not a spy and I have nothing to do with Russian interference in the elections . The Russians never leave Russians behind, that’s why they are fighting me.”
Burkov was arrested about 4 years ago at Ben Gurion Airport after being accused of credit card fraud in the US
According to the criminal case filed against him, from 2009 to 2013, he ran an illegal websitethrough which he sold data from approximately 150,000 credit cards, most of which belonged to American citizens.
The damage caused by Burkov's actions was estimated at around $20 million.
