FSB investigates Moscow police for selling law-enforcement data on dark web

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Interior Ministry’s internal security division are conducting a joint inquiry into the data leaks allegedly enabled by the Moscow police. The news outlets Baza, TASS, and RBC all report on the inspections now taking place across police departments in Moscow’s Central Administrative District.

A TASS source explains that police operatives with access to internal information systems had allegedly sold confidential data about members of Russia’s law enforcement to various clients, including some Ukrainian nationals. According to RBC, sign-in credentials and passwords may also have been compromised.

The Telegram news outlet Baza reports that the leak had been detected mid-spring. The investigators then found some dark-web advertisements for similar information. When they responded to the ads, they received the data they’d requested, along with a confirmation that it had come directly from the Central District police.

According to Baza, several members of the Moscow police force have been arrested, and two high-ranking officers have chosen to resign.