Spanish Court Rules to Extradite Alleged Russian Hacker to US

A Spanish court ruled on Tuesday to extradite Russian national Pyotr Levashov, accused by US authorities of malicious hacking, to the United States, according to a court document. However, Sputnik has learned that the decision may be appealed.

MADRID (Sputnik) — The Criminal Division of the National Court has ruled to extradite Levashov to the United States, where he has been accused of a "number of cybercrimes, including computer fraud and theft of personal data," according to the document obtained by Sputnik.

However, a source in the National Court later told Sputnik that the decision may be appealed at the plenary session of the National Court.

Levashov, 36, was detained in Barcelona at a US request in April. He was charged by the courts of several US states — Alaska, Michigan, Connecticut, as well as the District of Columbia.

The New York Times reported at the time, citing the official who was involved in the activities which led to Levashov's capture, that the US side has not managed to receive any assistance from Moscow on the matter. With regard to the consultations which US law enforcement held in Moscow, the official did not specify when exactly they took place.

In late March, the FBI received information about Levashov's travel to Spain, the report read. The US officials did not comment on how the FBI learned of Levashov's travel plans or whether they had cooperated with the Russian government, according to the newspaper.

On September 20, Moscow appealed to the Spanish side with a request for Levashov's extradition to Russia, though the charges brought against him in Russia were not disclosed.