Russian Tied to $82M Hacking Scheme in U.S. Deemed Flight Risk, Denied Bail

Vladislav Klyushin, a Russian tied to an $82 million hacking scheme in the U.S., was deemed a flight risk and denied bail Wednesday.

Prosecutor Seth Kosto said Klyushin, 41, is a flight risk, as Russia has no extradition agreement with the U.S. and Klyushin never consented to extradition, along with other reasons.

Klyushin allegedly took part in a scheme, along with five other Russians, to steal information on computer networks to use for insider trading, illegally netting $82 million from 2018 to 2020, federal authorities said. He works for an information company with connections to the upper levels of the Russian government and is also a millionaire.

U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler in Boston sided with the prosecution, saying Klyushin “presents a substantial risk of flight.”

Bowler also appeared suspicious of several letters from Klyushin’s wife and friends supporting him. She said there was no way to contact the writers and that the letters all began similarly. “Therefore I do not give heavy weight to them,” she said.

Maksim Nemtsev, Klyushin’s attorney, had requested his client’s release with conditions, such as a $2.5 million bond and home detention in a one-bedroom unit located in Boston’s seaport district with electronic monitoring.

According to court documents, Nemtsev had said that Klyushin “intends to challenge the government’s case in a lawful, professional and principled manner.”

The Associated Press left Nemtsev an email asking for comment after the hearing.

Klyushin, who appeared at Wednesday’s hearing via video, pleaded not guilty to conspiring to obtain unauthorized access to computers, and to commit wire fraud and securities fraud; aiding and abetting wire fraud; aiding and abetting unauthorized access to computers; and aiding and abetting securities fraud. If convicted of all charges he faces a maximum of…