The Department of Justice has filed a civil forfeiture lawsuit against Rustam Rafailevich Gallyamov, a Russian citizen suspected of developing Qakbot malicious software, seeking to seize more than $24 million worth of his cryptocurrency. Gallyamov, 48, is accused of running the malicious software since 2008 and forming a botnet by infecting thousands of computers in 2019. Matthew Galeotti, head of the Department of Justice's criminal division, said the operation showed that all legal means will be used to hold cybercriminals accountable. The US-led international operation that took down the Qakbot network in 2023 had seized 170 bitcoins and $4 million stablecoins. The indictment shows that the defendants have since switched to new methods to continue deploying ransomware such as Black Basta. It is reported that Qakbot botnet access has been sold to the perpetrators of multiple global ransomware attacks, including well-known ransomware groups such as Conti and REvil.