PANews reported on March 15 that according to Bitcoim.com, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Rostislav Panev, a dual citizen of Russia and Israel, has been extradited to the United States on suspicion of being a developer of the Lockbit ransomware group. According to court documents, Panev served as a developer of Lockbit from its inception in 2019 until February 2024. Prosecutors accused him of participating in the development of malware that was used by its affiliates to disable antivirus software, encrypt victim networks, and spread ransomware on multiple devices. Authorities found administrator credentials related to the Lockbit dark web repository and control panel on Panev's computer. Lockbit's main administrator transferred approximately $10,000 per month to a cryptocurrency wallet owned by Panev through one or more illegal cryptocurrency mixing services. During this period, the transfer amount exceeded $230,000.