Russian GRU agent linked to Novichok attack arrested

The FBI and Thai Police have arrested a Russian GRU operative in Phuket, Thailand, suspected of involvement in the plot to murder Sergei and Yulia Skripal with the Novichok nerve agent in Salisbury in 2018.

Authorities swooped on a hotel in the Thalang District on the island of Phuket on Wednesday following a tip from US law enforcement that Aleksey Viktorovich Lukashev had entered the country and was a guest at the holiday resort. Commissioner Surapol Prembut of Thailand’s Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau reported that US intelligence had informed his agency that a “world-class hacker” was in hiding on Phuket, and requesting that he be tracked down and detained while an extradition application was prepared.

Although he was using a false name and was in possession of a fake passport under the name of ‘Aleksey Petrov’, investigators from the Thai Immigration Bureau were able to track the 35-year-old Russian following his arrival in Phuket two weeks before. The meticulously coordinated raid was executed by officers from the region’s Crime Suppression Division and the Provincial Police, with FBI agents and officials from the Attorney General’s office observing.

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Lukashev is suspected of working for Unit 26165, an elite team within Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate, Vladimir Putin’s much-feared military intelligence agency. Also known as an APT – or ‘Advanced Persistent Threat’ – the secretive unit is commonly known as ‘Fancy Bear’ and is tasked with cyber warfare operations against foreign targets, including hacking and ransomware attacks, as well as supporting operations by field agents.

Lukashev is alleged by UK authorities to have been heavily involved in the plot to murder Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury, having been assigned the task of hacking Yulia Skripal’s emails with malware known as ‘X-Agent’. After gaining access to the emails of the daughter of the double agent, Lukashev was then able to pass on details of their plans and movements to the two GRU assassins, Alexander Mishkin and Anatoliy Chepiga.

Although the inept Russian hit squad failed to kill their two targets, Dawn Sturgess, an innocent civilian from Amesbury, was killed and two others hospitalised after exposure to the deadly nerve agent, including Charlie Rowley, Dawn’s partner, and Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey of Wiltshire Police .

However, the Russian agent is unlikely to face trial in a British court for many decades, if at all, following the filing of an official request for extradition by the US Department of Justice. US officials allege that Lukashev was also responsible for the hacking of Hilary Clinton’s emails in 2016 after successfully executing a so-called ‘phishing’ attack against Clinton’s campaign manager, John Podesta.

Lukashev’s listing on the FBI’s ‘Most Wanted’ website says that the operative is one of eleven suspects working on behalf of Russia who were involved in “interfering with the 2016 United States elections”. Lukashev’s poster also alleges that the GRU operative stole documents, committed “aggravated identity theft”, and conspired to commit money laundering.

Thai investigators seized laptops and mobile phones in the raid, as well as digital wallets used to hold cryptocurrencies. Sources have said that up to $500,000 in crypto coins linked to Lukashev had been frozen. Extradition cases can be legally complex in Thailand and applications can take several years, however Lukashev is unlikely to be granted bail.

As a Senior Lieutenant, Lukashev is one of the most high-profile Russian operatives arrested, meaning interference and diplomatic applications by Moscow are highly likely. Russia has previously arranged prisoner swaps for spies, contract killers, and arms dealers in an effort to avoid arrested and convicted criminals and intelligence agents talking to authorities in an attempt to broker a deal for their release.