U.S. Trades Cybercriminals to Russia in Prisoner Swap

An international prisoner swap between Russia and Western countries freed 24 people, including U.S. journalist **Evan Gershkovich** and former Marine **Paul Whelan**, while Russia received convicted cybercriminals **Roman Seleznev** (operator of major stolen card marketplaces, ordered to pay $50M) and **Vladislav Klyushin** (owner of **M-13**, sentenced for a $93M “hack‑to‑trade” scheme); the report outlines their arrests abroad, ties to Russian state-linked circles, mentions fugitive co-conspirators like **Ivan Ermakov**, and lists additional releases involving several European countries.