Pharma Wars: The Price of (in)Justice
Summary: Krebs on Security published leaked Jabber chat logs from February 2010 in which Igor Gusev and Dmitry Stupin, operators of the rogue pharmacy affiliate programs GlavMed and SpamIt, discussed paying more than $1.5 million to politicians and law enforcement to secure a criminal prosecution of their former ChronoPay partner Pavel Vrublevsky. Gusev wrote that the money would ensure Vrublevsky "would remain in prison and would not be able to pay his way out" and would lose a large portion of his business.
Key Takeaway: The logs lay out a $1.5 million price for steering a prosecution through Russian prosecutors and law enforcement, with Gusev describing a lawyer-fixer's demand and FSB connections through the Volleyball Association as the available levers. For a security leader, the case shows the criminal ecosystem behind rogue pharmacy affiliate programs operating with paid protection inside the agencies meant to police it.
Read the original at Krebs on Security ↗
- Topics
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