Kazakhstan detains Russian cyber expert wanted by both Washington and Moscow

(Reuters) – Authorities in Kazakhstan have detained a Russian cybersecurity expert wanted by the United States, his employer said on Wednesday, as authorities in Moscow said they would also seek his extradition.

Nikita Kislitsin, an employee of Russian cybersecurity firm F.A.C.C.T., was detained on June 22 and Kazakh authorities are considering Washington’s extradition request, the company said in a statement.

It said the accusations against Kislitsin, which it did not spell out, stemmed from his time as a journalist and independent researcher. It gave no further details.

Reuters was not able to contact Kislitsin or his representatives.

On Wednesday, F.A.C.C.T. said, it became aware that Kislitsin, a former editor-in-chief of Russian magazine “Hacker”, was also wanted in Russia.

Separately, Russia’s Vedomosti newspaper said Moscow court arrested Kislitsin in absentia on charges of unauthorised access to digital information, and that Russia would seek his extradition.

Russia’s RIA news agency quoted the Russian consulate in Kazakhstan as saying it had asked Astana not to rush through Kislitsin’s extradition to the United States.

F.A.C.C.T. was spun off from Singapore-based cybersecurity firm Group-IB, which said on Wednesday it was not involved in any way with the investigation.

Police in Kazakhstan, where Wednesday was a public holiday, could not be immediately reached for comment.

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