The United States Embassy in Pristina has announced that two Kosovo citizens have been extradited to the United States, where they will face an indictment for harming American citizens.
"We greatly appreciate the continued cooperation of the Kosovo authorities in assisting the US government on this matter, strengthening our joint efforts to keep both Kosovo and the United States safe," the US Embassy said in a statement.
These are two young men - Ardit Kutleshin, 26, and Jetmir Kutleshin, 28 - who were arrested on December 12 of last year, based on a US extradition request.
They are accused of overseeing the Rydox website, which sold stolen personal data "for the purpose of committing cybercrime and fraud."
According to the indictment, Rydox had generated at least $230,000 in revenue since it started in February 2016.
Ardit Kutleshi and Jetmir Kutleshi face several charges of identity theft and fraud, all related to their role as administrators of the Rydox website. They are accused of, among other things, selling the credit card details of thousands of “victims living in the US.”
According to the Department of Justice, if convicted, they could face up to 20 years in prison for the money laundering charge, ten years in prison for the credit card fraud charge, five years in prison for each of the identity theft charges, as well as a mandatory minimum of 2 years in prison for the aggravated identity theft charge, which must be served after any other conviction.
In addition to shutting down the Rydox website, the US was also authorized to seize approximately $225,000 in cryptocurrencies from accounts controlled by the defendants.
In the indictment filed by the Western District of Pennsylvania, another Kosovar citizen, Shpend Sokoli, was arrested in Albania by the Special Structure Against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK) for the same case.
"Sokoli is expected to be charged and prosecuted in Albania," the announcement previously published on the US Department of Justice website states./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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