Ukraine says breaks up global hacker ring, banks targeted

KIEV, June 23 - Ukraine's state security service on Thursday said it had broken up an international hacking ring that infiltrated foreign banks' computer networks and stole $72 million.

The hacker group, organised and led by Ukrainians, used a computer virus to access bank accounts abroad, the SBU security agency said.

According to preliminary estimates, damage to bank customers' amounts to about $72 million, it added in a statement, without naming the banks.

The SBU said it uncovered the ring with the help of law enforcement agencies from 11 countries, including the United States, Great Britain, France and Germany.

The operation involved simultaneous raids around the world this week, it said, without going into further details.

Sixteen people were questioned during the investigation and 40 bank accounts in Latvia were frozen, it said.

(Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Andrew Heavens)