A Russian man wanted by the Justice Department on charges connected to hacking U.S. companies now claims the FBI offered him immunity in exchange for accepting responsibility for cyberattacks targeting former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
Yevgeny Nikulin, the alleged hacker, laid the claim to Russian media Thursday in a letter sent from a Czech Republic prison cell amid an international extradition battle currently underway between Washington and Moscow.
FBI agents promised Mr. Nikulin money, American citizenship and a free apartment for taking the fall over hacking Mrs. Clinton’s campaign, he alleged in a letter published Thursday by Nastoyashchoe Vremya, a Russian-language website.“[They told me:] you will have to confess to breaking into Clinton’s inbox for [President Trump] on behalf of [Russian President Vladimir Putin],” Mr. Nikulin wrote, as translated by The Moscow Times.
“He was offered to falsely testify that he was cooperating in the attack on the Democratic Party,” defense attorney Martin Sadilek said Thursday, the Associated Press reported.
The FBI declined to comment.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/may/11/yevgeny-nikulin-alleged-russian-hacker-claims-fbi-/
A Russian man detained on hacking charges has told reporters that he was pressured to confess to a cyberattack on former U.S. Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton.
Yevgeny Nikulin was arrested in Oct. 5, 2016 in the Czech Republic at the request of U.S. authorities.
He stands accused of hacking the servers of several U.S. Companies, including LinkedIn and DropBox between 2012 and 2013.
Russia has also requested Nikulin’s extradition, accusing him of stealing money from online WebMoney accounts.