Intellectual Property Law

In a new twist on the old cliche of politicians who become crooks, a Ukrainian cybercrime chief that I wrote about last year in a three-part series about cybercrime gangs is now turning to politics and launching a new political party in Ukraine.

Dmitry Ivanovich Golubov (in both photos at right), a 24-year-old who went by the online nic "Script" only a couple of years ago, was considered one of the godfathers of East European carding rings until Ukrainian authorities arrested him in 2005 at the urging of U.S. law enforcement agents. Golubov helped launch a former site called CardersMarket, an international crime site where hackers and carders congregated to plot their schemes and traffic in stolen credit and debit card numbers.

As I wrote previously, Golubov eluded capture for more than a year due to a lack of interest on the part of local authorities in arresting him. Then the Orange Revolution swept the Ukraine, and a door of cooperation suddenly opened. But six months after Golubov was nabbed by local police, a court released him on bond after two Ukrainian politicians vouched for him.

Now, as Brian Krebs at WashingtonPost.com reports, Golubov has thrown his newsboy cap into the political ring as one of the founders of the Internet Party of Ukraine, which vows to root out public corruption -- as well as computerize the country and provide free computer classes and foreign-language training to citizens.

According to Krebs, should Golubov get elected, he would be immune from prosecution for his crimes -- presumably this refers to retroactive immunity.

Photo: U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Internet Party of Ukraine

See also:

• Part I: I Was a Cybercrook for the FBI
• Part II: Tightening the Net
• Part III: The Boards Come Crashing Down
• Sidebar: Tracking the Russians
• Secret Service Operative Moonlights as Identity Thief
• Confessions of a Cybermule
• E-Gold Gets Tough on Cybercrime