Latvian Karakurt ransomware member sentenced to 8.5 years in US

A Latvian member of the Karakurt ransomware gang, Deniss Zolotarjovs, was sentenced to 8.5 years in prison in the US for his involvement in extortion. He was arrested in Georgia in December 2023 and extradited to the US in August 2024, and he pleaded guilty in July 2025. Zolotarjovs was part of Karakurt between June 2021 and March 2023, during which the group hit at least 53 entities and caused about $56 million in losses.

He did not carry out intrusions but was directly involved in extortion strategies and in negotiating with victim organisations, including analysing stolen data and advising on ransom negotiations.

In a notable case, he helped escalate pressure on a pediatric healthcare company that did not immediately pay the ransom, recommending the publication of pediatric patient data online, and he received 10% of negotiated ransom payments, paid in cryptocurrency and moved through multiple wallets before converting to Russian rubles.