Russian Cybersecurity Firm Founder Jailed On Treason Charges

Russia on Wednesday sentenced Ilya Sachkov, co-founder of the Group-IB cybersecurity firm, to 14 years in prison on treason charges, according to an AFP journalist in the Moscow court.

Following a closed-door trial, "the court found Sachkov guilty under Article 275 of Russia's Criminal Code and sentenced him to 14 years in prison with the sentence to be served in a strict regime penal colony", judge Alexander Rybak said.

Sachkov, 37, co-founded Group-IB in 2003. It specialises in the detection and prevention of cyberattacks and works with Interpol and several other global institutions.

Prosecutors last week requested that Sachkov be sentenced to 18 years in jail. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Sachkov was smiling as he appeared in court on Wednesday, wearing jeans and a black T-shirt, an AFP reporter said.

His mother and his partner as well as several supporters were also present.

Lawyer Ruslan Koblev, representing Sachkov, said they intend to appeal the verdict, describing the case as "politicised to the maximum".

Sachkov has been in custody since September 2021.

Few details have been made public from his trial, as treason cases in Russia are typically classified.

Russian news agencies reported that Sachkov is accused of handing classified information to foreign intelligence and the charges were not connected to the work of Group-IB.

In an open letter to President Vladimir Putin published in November 2021, Sachkov said he was "not a spy and not a traitor" but a "Russian engineer" who repeatedly proved his "loyalty" to Russia.

Group-IB, headquartered in Singapore, said in a statement following the verdict that it had "full confidence in Ilya's innocence".

"While he remains wrongfully imprisoned, we will continue to stand up against injustice and operate our business with the same mission in mind -- to fight against cybercrime," the company said in a statement.

Group-IB this year finalised its exit from the Russian market. Its stand-alone Russian business was sold to local management and renamed F.A.C.C.T (Fight Against Cybercrime Technologies).

"This is a difficult moment for us all and a dark day for the cybersecurity market," Valery Baulin, CEO of F.A.C.C.T, said of Sachkov's verdict.

Sachkov co-founded Group-IB when he was just 17 and he was featured on the Forbes "30 under-30" list of tech entrepreneurs in 2016.

Three years later he received an "innovative breakthrough" award from Putin "for developments in the field of identifying and preventing cyberthreats", according to the Kremlin.