Russia Accuses US of 'Kidnapping' Alleged Russian POS Hacker

Russian authorities accused the US of “kidnapping” Russian citizen Roman Seleznev, the son of a lawmaker, when US officials arrested him in the Maldives for alleged POS hacking of Washington restaurants between 2009 and 2011, according to SC Magazine.

Russian news agency ITAR-TASS reports that Russian authorities accuse the US secret service of kidnapping the 30-year old hacker and taking him outside the country, to the US territory of Guam without providing any explanation.

“We consider the incident as another Washington unfriendly step,” the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. “It is not the first time that the US kidnaps a Russian citizen ignoring the 1999 mutual legal assistance agreement.”

Russian authorities also request official explanations from Maldives` officials, who Russia alleges ignored international legislative norms and allowed a foreign country to take Seleznev out of their territory.

Russian lawmaker Valery Seleznyov, Roman`s father, defends his son and does not exclude the possibility that “a terrible coincidence occurred, and the detained young man is just a namesake of Roman.”

The U.S. District Court in Seattle charged Seleznev with five counts of bank fraud, eight counts of damaging and obtaining information from a protected computer and a single count of possessing around 15 unauthorized devices to steal credit card numbers. He also faces two counts of trafficking in unauthorized access devices and five counts of aggravated identity theft.