A Bulgarian citizen who was jailed for hacking the bank accounts of billionaire Bill Gates in 2011 was again arrested in Quezon City while in the act of using cloned cards at an automated teller machine (ATM) Thursday night, police said.
Konstantin Simeonov Kavrakov, 31, offered a $12,000 bribe to the officers who had him cornered at a bank on Scout Reyes Street in Barangay Paligsahan.
He had already withdrawn P76,500 when he was arrested in a joint operation of the Philippine National Police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), said Supt. Milo Pagtalunan of the CIDG-Anti-Fraud and Commercial Crimes Unit.
Seized from Kavrakov were nine ATM receipts dated April 9, seven assorted bank cards, a cell phone and a bag containing P76,570.
Pagtalunan said the cards included a Citi Visa in the name of Joanne Magno, a Standard Chartered Mastercard and Citibank Mastercard in the name of Rommel Pamintuan, a Citi Mastercard issued to Fernando Co, a Citibank Visa for Jonathan Mallari, an Eastwest Bank Visa in the name of Catherine Tiamzon and a blank card with black magnetic strip.
The suspect had been victimizing Filipino bank clients for years and his activities were reported to the PNP by an informant, the official added. His name also cropped up in the PAOCC’s Special Project “Jugador” which targets foreigners engaged in cybercrime and illegal online gaming.
Kakrakov was charged Friday for violation of the Access Device Regulations Act and for bribing public officials. The CIDG is also set to secure a search warrant on his known address at a Quezon City hotel.
According to PAOCC Executive Director Chief Supt. Reginald Villasanta, Kavrakov was jailed by Paraguayan authorities in June 2011 for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars from Gates’ bank accounts.
The billionaire-philanthropist was in the country earlier this week for a low-profile visit to the International Rice Research Institute in Laguna province.
The PAOCC is checking how Kavrakov managed to secure his release in Paraguay, his date of arrival in Manila, the places where he stayed, and his other possible partners in the scheme, Villasanta said.