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Suspect in 0M Nomad hack to be extradited to the US: Report

A Russian-Israeli citizen allegedly involved in the $190 million Nomad bridge hack will soon be extradited to the US after he was reportedly arrested at an Israeli airport while boarding a flight to Russia. 

Alexander Gurevich will be investigated for his alleged involvement in several “computer crimes,” including laundering millions of dollars and transferring stolen property allegedly connected to the Nomad Bridge hack in 2022, The Jerusalem Post reported on May 5.

Gurevich returned to Israel from an overseas trip on April 19 but was ordered to appear before the Jerusalem District Court for an extradition hearing soon after, according to the report. 

On April 29, Gurevich changed his name in Israel’s Population Registry to “Alexander Block” and received a passport under that name at Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport the next day.

He was arrested at the same airport two days later, on May 1, while waiting to board a flight to Russia. 

Gurevich allegedly identified a vulnerability in the Nomad bridge, which he exploited and stole roughly $2.89 million worth of tokens from in August 2022.

Dozens of copycat hackers discovered and capitalized on the security vulnerability soon after, leading to a total loss of $190 million.

Gurevich allegedly reached out to a Nomad executive on Telegram

Prosecutors allege that shortly after the hack, Gurevich messaged Nomad’s chief technology officer, James Prestwich, on Telegram using a fake identity, admitting that he had been “amateurishly” seeking a crypto protocol to exploit.

He allegedly apologized for “the trouble he caused Prestwich and his team” and voluntarily transferred about $162,000 into a recovery wallet the company had set up.

Prestwich told Gurevich that Nomad would pay him 10% of the value of the assets he had stolen, to which Gurevich responded that he would consult his lawyer. However, Nomad never heard back from him after that.

Russia, Israel, Telegram, United States, Hacks
Alleged messages between Gurevich and Nomad’s James Prestwich were shared on X by Israel-based Walla News journalist Yoav Itiel. Source: Yoav Itiel

At some point during the negotiations, Gurevich demanded a reward of $500,000 for identifying the vulnerability.

Related: Do Kwon is in US custody after extradition battle

US federal authorities filed an eight-count indictment against Gurevich in the Northern District of California on Aug. 16, 2023, in addition to obtaining a warrant for his arrest. California is where the team behind the Nomad bridge is based.

The US submitted a formal extradition request in December 2024, the Post noted.

The money laundering charges that Gurevich faces carry a maximum of 20 years, significantly harsher than what he would face in Israel.

Gurevich is believed to have arrived in Israel a few days before the $190 million exploit occurred, prompting Israeli officials to believe he carried out the attack while in Israel.

Magazine: Financial nihilism in crypto is over — It’s time to dream big again

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French gov’t set to review motion to ‘embrace Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies’

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French gov’t set to review motion to ‘embrace Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies’

French gov’t set to review motion to ‘embrace Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies’

Éric Ciotti of the Union of the Right for the Republic led the charge in a motion for a resolution to ban CBDCs and promote stablecoins in France.

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Trump’s Truth Social moves into prediction markets with Crypto.com

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Trump’s Truth Social moves into prediction markets with Crypto.com

Trump’s Truth Social moves into prediction markets with Crypto.com

Truth Social wants to “democratize information” for its 6.3 million users with a social media prediction platform developed in collaboration with Crypto.com.

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Income tax and national insurance unlikely to rise – as Sky News obtains definition of ‘working people’

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Income tax and national insurance unlikely to rise - as Sky News obtains definition of 'working people'

Rachel Reeves is unlikely to raise the basic rates of income tax and national insurance in order to avoid breaking a promise to protect “working people” in the budget.

It comes as Sky News has obtained an internal definition of “working people” used by the Treasury.

Officials have been tasked with protecting the income of the lower two-thirds of working people, meaning in theory people earning more than around £46,000 could face a squeeze in the budget.

However, this is likely to rule out increases to the basic rate of income tax and national insurance, since they would pay more tax.

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Rachel Reeves is unlikely to hike these taxes because the Treasury says those earning £45,000 or less qualify as “working people”.

Sky News understands that ministers are still considering whether to break manifesto pledges, and these options remain on the table.

The main elements of the budget must be finalised by the middle of November, in the next two to three weeks.

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Chancellor faces tough budget choices

Rachel Reeves is facing a black hole in the budget that could exceed £35bn, after the latest Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast came in worse than expected.

The OBR had been anticipated to downgrade expected future productivity rates by 0.1% or 0.2% of GDP.

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Each extra 0.1% point means an additional £7bn drop in revenue and a corresponding increase in the size of the black hole the Chancellor must fill in the budget.

However, now the OBR is expected to downgrade future trend growth by 0.3%. This means that the black hole left by the productivity downgrade is around £21bn.

The chancellor needs to find around £10bn because of welfare U-turns, reinstating the winter fuel allowance and other policy changes.

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Former Bank of England Governor Lord Mervyn King says the budget will be tough

Read more from Sky News:
Budget 2025: What tax rises and spending cuts could Reeves announce?

On Monday, the chancellor also said she would increase headroom – the buffer between her spending projects and borrowing limited by her fiscal rules.

This is likely to cost another £5bn to £10bn, to get her out of the doom loop “cycle” which Ms Reeves acknowledged to Sky News she risked being stuck in.

This means the total size of the black hole likely to be needed to be filled is around £35bn or £40bn.

Sources insist that this figure is before the final forecasts from the OBR, and therefore is subject to change.

The Treasury said it does not comment on tax measures or the size of the black hole.

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