Uzbekistan man extradited from Ukraine and arraigned on charges of stealing millions of dollars in cryptocurrency

Buffalo, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced that Nikita Andreevich Sklyuev a/k/a Valeriy Dorojkin, 37, of Uzbekistan, was extradited from Ukraine and arraigned today on an indictment charging him with wire fraud and fraudulent use of unauthorized access device. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas A. C. Penrose, who is handling the case, stated that according to the indictment, in June 2018, Sklyuev submitted a computer software application, “EOSIO Wallet Explorer,” to Apple to be sold through the Apple App Store. The EOSIO Wallet Explorer purported to be a cryptocurrency wallet, but was in fact a malicious computer software application designed to steal the cryptocurrency user’s private key, thereby giving Sklyuev access to the user’s cryptocurrency funds. In September 2018, an individual in the Western District of New York (Victim) purchased the EOSIO Wallet Explorer application and then installed it on his iPhone. Once the Victim entered his private key following the installation, Sklyuev had unauthorized access to the Victim’s cryptocurrency wallet, which contained approximately 2,092,395.5356 EOS cryptocurrency, which at the time was valued at approximately $11.8 million dollars. On September 25, 2018, Sklyuev changed the private key to the Victim’s wallet, which resulted in the Victim losing all control and access to his wallet. In February 2019, Sklyuev transferred the EOS cryptocurrency from the Victim’s wallet to numerous other online wallets that were under his control.

Sklyuev was arraigned this morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy and is being held pending a detention hearing on July 3, 2024. Today’s arraignment follows the successful June 20, 2024, extradition of Sklyuev from Ukraine. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with Romanian and Ukrainian authorities to secure his arrest and extradition.

The indictment is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Miraglia and the U.S. Marshals Service, under the direction of Marshal Charles Salina.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.  

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