Russia's Dubnikov 'Practically Kidnapped' by FBI in Mexico, Sent to Amsterdam - Attorney

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The FBI has practically kidnapped Russian citizen Denis Dubnikov, who was arrested in the Netherlands, his lawyer Arkady Bukh told Sputnik.

"Mexico has not let him enter the country. The US intelligence services have put him on a plane to the Netherlands and sent him there having paid for his ticket. In other words, he was kidnapped in fact", Bukh said, adding that it was the FBI behind the "kidnapping".

He stressed that Dubnikov may face up to 20 years in jail.

"[Dubnikov] was detained in Mexico but expelled because Mexico doesn't have such an ideal extradition policy as the Netherlands. They have bought a ticket, in other words, they have in fact kidnapped him and sent him to the Netherlands because extradition from the Netherlands is in fact guaranteed", Bukh said.

"He is in fact held in jail in the Netherlands, he is accused of money laundering and may face up to 20 years in jail. We expect his extradition to the United States".

"So far, we do not agree to extradition, but we will probably give our consent later because the Netherlands is a country where the fight against extradition is statistically meaningless. We are studying: maybe it is worth agreeing to a quick extradition and sorting it out here", the attorney added.

Dubnikov was detained earlier this month while on vacation. Bukh previously relayed to reporters that his client had been taken into custody at the direction of the US on a conspiracy to commit money laundering charge.

The arrestee's case currently marks one of the first arrests in connection with the Ryuk ransomeware group tied to attacks against US hospitals. Authorities have accused Dubnikov of having taken hundreds of thousands of dollars in Bitcoin, a fraction allegedly obtained through Ryuk ransomware strikes.

An earlier report by The Wall Street Journal detailed that the Ryuk group has been tied to over 2,000 ransomware incidents since first emerging in the field in August 2018.

The Biden administration has made cybersecurity one of its top concerns over the last several months after multiple attacks rattled American industries, including the strike against the Colonial Pipeline which prompted gas shortages along much of the US East Coast.