Georgy Kavzharadze, a 27-year-old Russian, has been sentenced to 40 months in prison after being found guilty of selling stolen login credentials on Slilpp, a prominent online black market. His criminal activities took place between July 2016 and May 2021, during which he listed over 626,100 stolen credentials. These credentials were linked to around $1.2 million in fraudulent transactions, as buyers used the information to steal from victims’ accounts.
Kavzharadze, who operated under various aliases like TeRorPP, Torqovec, and PlutuSS, was found to have sold vast amounts of personal and financial information. On May 27, 2021, his Slilpp account alone had nearly 240,500 credentials available for purchase, which could grant access to bank accounts across states including New York, California, Nevada, and Georgia. Payment for these stolen credentials was exclusively accepted in Bitcoin.
Russian Cybercriminal Sentenced to 40 Months for Selling Stolen Credentials on Dark Web
The FBI’s investigation revealed that Kavzharadze withdrew over $200,000 in Bitcoin from profits earned through Slilpp. In response to these findings, he was charged with multiple offenses on August 19, 2021, including conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud. After being extradited to the U.S. and appearing in court in May 2022, Kavzharadze pleaded guilty to the charges on February 16, 2024.
The takedown of Slilpp on June 10, 2021, marked a significant moment in combating online cybercrime. The operation, involving law enforcement agencies from the U.S., Germany, the Netherlands, and Romania, resulted in the seizure of Slilpp’s servers. The marketplace had been active since 2012 and had over 80 million stolen credentials listed for sale just before its closure.
Following Slilpp’s shutdown, there has been a continued global crackdown on similar illicit online markets. Recent operations have led to the arrest of individuals like Rui-Siang Lin, who allegedly ran the Incognito dark web drug market, and the seizure of other dark web platforms such as Genesis and BreachForums. These actions reflect an ongoing effort to disrupt and dismantle cybercrime networks and their associated activities.
