Russian woman listed as suspect in First Bank ATM heist

[Rasputin]

Russian woman listed as suspect in First Bank ATM heist

2016/07/23 22:02:21

Taipei, July 23 (CNA) A Russian national has been added to the list of suspects in the theft of more than NT$83 million (US$2.6 million) from First Bank automatic teller machines (ATMs) in Taiwan earlier this month, police said Saturday.

The latest addition is 42-year-old Oxana Sarkisova, who arrived in Taiwan from Macau at 11 a.m. July 11 and departed for Macau again at 8 p.m. that same night. She was previously listed as an associate in the case.

The latest findings by police show that Sarkisova headed directly to the Humble House Taipei hotel to look for her boyfriend Alexander Lvovskiy, another Russian suspect in the case, immediately after she got off the plane.

She was seen on surveillance camera footage pulling a piece of white luggage into the hotel at 6 p.m., police said.

The luggage, containing more than NT$22.51 million, was eventually handed to Evgenni Babii, also a Russian, who stored it in a locker at the Taipei Railway Station July 13. It was then taken away by Romanian Mihail Colibaba July 16, according to police.

With Sarkisova included, 17 suspects from six countries have so far been identified in the high-profile ATM theft involving an international crime ring.

The heist occurred between July 9 and 11 when the ring stole NT$83.27 million from 41 of First Bank ATMs in Taipei, New Taipei and Taichung using malware to hack into the bank's computer system.

On July 17, police recovered NT$60.24 million of the stolen cash from the hotel room of Colibaba and Moldovan Niklae Penkov following their arrest.

Based on information provided by the other suspect arrested, Latvian Andrejs Peregudovs, police found a bag containing NT$12.63 million on a hill near Xihu Park in Taipei's Neihu District July 20.

Also July 20, a man surnamed Ko handed to police another bag containing NT$4.54 million that he discovered earlier that day at the same site.

To date, nearly NT$5.79 million of the stolen cash is still unaccounted for.

Police said they suspect that the missing money might have been taken overseas by the other suspects who have already fled the country.

It has been found that Estonian Xander Tann and Australian Victor Kharechko converted more than NT$200,000 into South Korean won, Australian dollars and U.S. dollars at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport right before they flew to South Korea July 11.

All told, 17 suspects from six countries are involved in this case, including Vladimir Berkman (Russia), Sergey Berezovskiy (Russia), Gaik Manukian (Russia), Adiian Kamo (Russia), Oleg Malic (Romania), Ion Secrieru (Romania), Igor Valicoglo (Romania), Sergey Berezovskiy (Romania, different passport number and birth date from Russian), and Alexandru Arsenii (Romania), according to police.

(By Liu Chien-pang, Lin Chang-shun and Y.F. Low)