Ransom Cartel founder sentenced to 16 years in U.S. prison

On August 5, Maksim Silnikau, 40, received a 16-year sentence in U.S. federal court after being convicted of conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States, wire fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft.

Court filings show Silnikau built and ran the Ransom Cartel ransomware operation. He recruited collaborators on cybercrime forums, supplied stolen login credentials and data about compromised machines, and provided tools to encrypt victims’ systems. Court papers describe a hidden website used to coordinate attacks, communicate with victims and co-conspirators, and manage distribution of ransom payments among participants.

Court filings show the campaign attributed to Ransom Cartel took place mainly between 2021 and 2023. The documents say the group targeted at least 18 organizations in the United States and other countries, exfiltrating files and demanding payments in exchange for decryption keys or promises not to publish the stolen data.

Authorities arrested Silnikau in Spain in 2023 and extradited him from Poland to the United States in 2024. Prosecutors wrote that his detention disrupted the group’s activities and led to the charges that produced the conviction and sentence.

Silnikau faces separate allegations covering about 2013 through 2022. Court records identify two alleged co-conspirators: Volodymyr Kadariya, a Belarusian and Ukrainian national, and Andrei Tarasov, a Russian national. The filings allege the three distributed malware and online scams through malvertising and exploit kits, including the Angler exploit kit that was disrupted in 2016. Tarasov was arrested in Germany, later released and returned to Russia. In 2024 the U.S. offered a $2.5 million reward for information leading to Kadariya’s capture.

Court documents describe Ransom Cartel’s infrastructure as a centralized control panel that combined access to already-compromised systems with tools to move laterally, encrypt data and steal files for extortion. Prosecutors brought charges under statutes addressing cross-border cybercrime, identity theft and wire fraud.