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MOSCOW, July 26 Defense of Group-IB founder Ilya Sachkov, sentenced to 14 years in prison for treason, will appeal to Vladimir Putin in connection with the verdict, says in a message from F.A.C.C.T. (formerly Group-IB).
On Wednesday, the Moscow City Court sentenced Sachkov to 14 years in a strict regime colony. His lawyer Sergei Afanasiev said the decision would be appealed. The prosecutor asked for 18 years, the defense insisted on Sachkov's innocence.
«Ilya Sachkov's defense announced its intention to appeal the verdict and appeal to the President of the Russian Federation,» the company said.
Shortly before the verdict, his letter was published in Sachkov's verified Telegram channel. In it, he said that the guilty verdict would be one of «the most successful operations of the American intelligence agencies» and a planned blow to the Russian IT sector.
Sachkov was imprisoned in a pre-trial detention center at the end of September 2021. The materials of the case, as in the vast majority of investigations related to treason, are classified. As the defense of the businessman reported, he does not admit guilt, and the criminal case is not related to the activities of the company he founded.
In the spring, cybersecurity company Group-IB completed the spin-off of Russian assets, the business was bought out by local shareholders and top management and continued to operate in Russia under the brand name F.A.C.C.T. (Fight Against Cybercrime Technologies — fight against cybercrime technologies).