'Hacker 3' escapes jail time in RBS WorldPay ATM heist
Eugene Anikin (right), previously known only as "Hacker 3" in a U.S. federal grand jury indictment, received a five-year suspended sentence with probation for three years, according to media reports out of Novosibirsk, Russia's third largest city.
Prosecutors had asked for a five-year prison sentence for the 27-year-old hacker.
According to the reports, Anikin fully admitted his guilt and asked for a suspended sentence (probation, but no jail time), saying he had learned his lesson. He has also pledged to repay money to RBS WorldPay, a subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Anikin is the second Russian hacker linked to the ATM heist to escape with a slap on the wrist. Victor Pleschuk, the hacker to exploited a vulnerability to break into the WorldPay network, received a six-year suspended sentence last year.
More details on the ATM heist and allegations can be found here.
* Photograph via Novosibirsk News.