REMARKS BY SECRETARY OF STATE KERRY AND RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER LAVROV

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks With Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov After Their Meeting
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Le Grand Hotel
Paris, France
May 27, 2013

SECRETARY KERRY: I want to thank Sergey Lavrov for meeting quickly, as we have here, before we both go to meet with Laurent Fabius, the Foreign Minister of France, momentarily. And we’re grateful for Foreign Minister Fabius’s hospitality here. We’ve been waiting for him to arrive back from Brussels where he was at an evening meeting, so we took advantage and have been discussing the question of Syria.

Let me just say – I think Sergey would agree with me that both of us – Russia, the United States – are deeply committed and remain committed to trying to implement the Geneva 1 principles, which require a transitional government by mutual consent that has full executive authority in order to allow the people of Syria to decide the future of Syria. We are committed to this. We both want to make this conference happen, if possible, together with many other countries that have joined up. And today we talked through a number of issues, sort of when the conference might take place, and obviously that depends on the participants and the decisions that need to be made together with our friends and allies and the United Nations.

We talked about the participants, and that is an ongoing conversation, and it will continue tonight with Foreign Minister Fabius. We also talked about the humanitarian situation, and both of us expressed our mutual concerns about any potential use of chemical weapons and the need to really get the evidence and ascertain what has happened in that regard. Both Russia and the United States, if it were being used, object to that very, very strongly.

But it is our hope that we will come out of here with greater clarity about some of the issues that need to be worked on in the days ahead. We agreed that representatives of both of our governments, from the foreign ministry in Russia and the State Department in the United States, will meet as soon as possible in order to work through a number of these issues regarding how this conference could best be prepared for the possibility of success, not failure. And that’s our goal, and that’s what brought us here to Paris.

FOREIGN MINISTER LAVROV: Thank you. I would like to express my gratitude to John Kerry for suggesting that we meet on this occasion, because the situation is not getting better on the ground and we all want to do everything in our efforts to stop the bloodshed and to reduce the sufferings of the Syrian people. And therefore we took stock today of where we are with the implementation of the Russian-American initiative which was launched when John visited Moscow on the 7th of May.

And as John said, we concentrated on the need to determine the participants of the conference, first of all from the Syrian sides – the government and opposition groups, as we said in Moscow – and secondly, the participants from outside circle. The Geneva 1 participants, I think, have been accepted as the invitees, and we believe that this circle could be expanded to involve all key outside players who have influence on the situation on the ground. And we discussed how we can proceed with the kind of division of labor which (inaudible) Moscow to persuade various Syrian parties and the foreign countries to cooperate with us in the efforts to make this conference convene.

It’s not an easy task. It’s a very tall order, but I hope that when the United States and Russian Federation take this kind of initiative, the chances for success are bigger, and we will do everything in our power to use those chances and to make them realize.

U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT DESIGNATES BASQUE LEADER AITZOL YARZA AS A TERRORIST

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

Terrorist Designation of Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) Leader Aitzol Iriondo Yarza

Media Note

Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

June 21, 2012

The U.S. Department of State has designated Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) leader Aitzol Iriondo Yarza under Executive Order 13224, which targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism. As a result of this designation, all property subject to U.S. jurisdiction in which Iriondo has any interest is blocked and any assets he may have under U.S. jurisdiction are frozen. U.S. persons are prohibited from engaging in any transactions with him. This action will help stem the flow of financial and other assistance to this ETA leader.


Iriondo, an ETA military leader and explosives expert, is currently detained in France waiting extradition to Spain on terrorism and murder charges. Iriondo’s status as a long term ETA member and his engagement in terrorist activities such as murder, bombings, recruiting, training, and providing logistical support for a terrorist organization, constitute a threat to U.S. interests. Spain and the EU have also listed Iriondo as a terrorist. 


ETA, designated by the United States as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 1997 and as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity under Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, is responsible for killing more than 800 civilians, police, and military personnel, and injuring thousands of people since it formally began its campaign of violence in 1968. ETA has primarily used bombings and assassinations in its campaign, targeting Spanish government officials, security and military forces, politicians, businessmen, judicial figures, journalists, and tourists. Between 2007 and 2010, more than 400 ETA members have been arrested. Since 2008, Spanish and French authorities have apprehended a number of ETA’s members and top leaders. These arrests have significantly reduced the group’s activities with an estimated 100 ETA members remaining at large. Spanish and French prisons together are estimated to hold more than 750 ETA members.

"BADB" EXTRADITED FROM FRANCE TO THE UNITED STATES

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Friday, June 15, 2012
Alleged International Credit Card Trafficker “Badb” Extradited from France to the United States
WASHINGTON – Vladislav Anatolievich Horohorin, aka “BadB” of Moscow, an alleged international credit card trafficker thought to be one of the most prolific sellers of stolen credit card data, has been extradited from France to the United States to face criminal charges filed in the District of Columbia and in the Northern District of Georgia.

The extradition was announced today by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. for the District of Columbia, U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates of the Northern District of Georgia, U.S. Secret Service (USSS) Assistant Director for Investigations David J. O’Connor, and Special Agent in Charge Brian D. Lamkin of the FBI’s Atlanta Field Office.

Horohorin, 27, made his first appearance before U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle in the District of Columbia yesterday.  He was extradited to the United States on June 6, 2012, and was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan Kay in the District of Columbia on June 7, 2012.  He was ordered detained pending trial.

“According to the indictment, Mr. Horohorin was one of the most notorious credit card traffickers in the world, transacting in stolen credit information across the globe,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer.  “Due to our strong relationships with our international law enforcement partners, we secured his extradition to the United States, where he now faces multiple criminal counts in two separate indictments.  We will continue to do everything we can to bring cybercriminals to justice, including those who operate beyond our borders.”

“Our indictment alleges that this young man used his technological savvy to profit by selling stolen credit card information over the Internet on a massive scale,” said U.S. Attorney Machen.  “We are pleased that he has been extradited to the United States to face these criminal charges in a District of Columbia courtroom.  This prosecution demonstrates that those who try to rip off Americans from behind a computer screen across an ocean will not escape American justice.”

“The Secret Service is committed to identifying and apprehending those individuals that continue to attack American financial institutions and we will continue to work through our international and domestic law enforcement partners in order to accomplish this,” said USSS Assistant Director O’Connor.

“International cyber criminals who target American citizens and businesses often believe they are untouchable because they are overseas,” said U.S. Attorney Yates.  “But as this case demonstrates, we will work relentlessly with our law enforcement partners around the world to charge, find and bring those criminals to justice.”

“Horohorin’s extradition to the United States demonstrates the FBI’s expertise in conducting long-term investigations into complex criminal computer intrusions, resulting in bringing the most egregious cyber criminals to justice, even from foreign shores,” said Special Agent in Charge Lamkin.  “The combined efforts of law enforcement agencies to include our international partners around the world will ensure this trend continues.”
Horohorin was indicted by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia in November 2009 on charges of access device fraud and aggravated identity theft.  In a separate investigation, a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia returned a superseding indictment against Horohorin in August 2010, charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and access device fraud.  In August 2010, French law enforcement authorities, working with the U.S. Secret Service, identified Horohorin in Nice, France, and arrested him as he was attempting to board a flight to return to Moscow.

According to the indictment filed in the District of Columbia, Horohorin was the subject of an undercover investigation by USSS agents.  Horohorin, who is a citizen of Israel, Russia and Ukraine, allegedly used online criminal forums such as “CarderPlanet” and “carder.su” to sell stolen credit card information, known as “dumps,” to online purchasers around the world.  According to the indictment, Horohorin, using the online name “BadB,” advertised the availability of stolen credit card information through these web forums and directed purchasers to create accounts at “dumps.name,” a fully-automated dumps vending website operated by Horohorin and hosted outside the United States.  The website was designed to assist in the exchange of funds for the stolen credit card information.  Horohorin allegedly directed buyers to fund their “dumps.name” account using funds transferred by services including “Webmoney,” an online currency service hosted in Russia.  The purchaser would then access the “dumps.name” website and select the desired stolen credit card data.  Using an online undercover identity, USSS agents negotiated the sale of numerous stolen credit card dumps.

According to the indictment filed in the Northern District of Georgia, Horohorin was one of the lead cashers in an elaborate scheme in which 44 counterfeit payroll debit cards were used to withdraw more than $9 million from over 2,100 ATMs in at least 280 cities worldwide in a span of less than 12 hours.  Computer hackers broke into a credit card processor located in the Atlanta area, stole debit card account numbers, and raised the balances and withdrawal limits on those accounts while distributing the account numbers and PIN codes to lead cashers, like Hororhorin, around the world.

Horohorin faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for each count of access device fraud, 20 years in prison for each count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud and a statutory consecutive penalty of two years in prison for the aggravated identity theft count.

The charges in the indictments are merely allegations and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The District of Columbia case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Carol Sipperly, Ethan Arenson and Corbin Weiss of the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.  Weiss also serves as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.  The District of Columbia case is being investigated by USSS.  Key assistance was provided by the French Police Nationale Aux Frontiers and the Netherlands Police Agency National Crime Squad High Tech Crime Unit.  The FBI Atlanta field office provided information helpful to the investigation.
The Northern District of Georgia case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nick Oldham and Lawrence R. Sommerfeld and Trial Attorney Sipperly of CCIPS.  The Atlanta case is being investigated by the FBI.  Assistance was provided by numerous law enforcement partners.  U.S. Secret Service provided information helpful to the investigation.

The Office of International Affairs in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division provided invaluable assistance.