This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
The U.S. Secret Service has announced a $2 million reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of two Ukrainian men accused of hacking into the Securities and Exchange Commission’s data system.
Artem Radchenko, 28, and Oleksandr Ieremenko, 28, acquired inside information on publicly traded companies by stealing test versions of quarterly and annual reports filed with the SEC but not yet available to investors, the Secret Service said in a statement on July 22.
The two men earned over $4.5 million in illicit profit by both selling the inside information to others and trading on it. Radchenko and Ieremenko carried out their scheme for more than a year, the Secret Service said.
The reward, which consists of $1 million for helping capture each individual, is an unprecedented step by the Secret Service.
“For the first time in agency history, we are able to strategically leverage resources worldwide in the pursuit of a wanted fugitive charged with the exploitation and manipulation of our financial systems,” U.S. Secret Service Director James M. Murray said in a statement.
A federal grand jury in the District of New Jersey last year charged Radchenko and Ieremenko with securities fraud conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, computer fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, and computer fraud in a 16-count indictment.
Radchenko and Ieremenko were born in Kyiv, according to information published by the Secret Service.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also announced the reward on Twitter.
“We will continue working with @TheJusticeDept to protect American citizens and other nations from being victimized by cyber-crime,” he said in the tweet.
