German police have detained a Russian man accused of being part of a cyber-crime gang which caused chaos at London hospitals and contributed to a patient’s death.
The hack of blood testing company Synnovis in 2024 led to disrupted pathology services across several London hospitals and was the first cyber attack in history to be directly linked to a death.
The BBC can confirm German detectives are now including the incident in their investigation into the detained Russian and his associates.
Separately, the BBC has learned that British police are examining whether its own inquiry may lead to an unlawful killing case – potentially a world first in cyber-crime.
The detained suspect is a 28-year-old Russian man named by German press as Vladimir K.
He was arrested in Japan in May when he travelled to the country for a holiday.
According to German officials, the suspect’s holiday plans were intercepted and he was arrested by Japanese police when he entered the country.
He is accused of being one of the core members of the Qilin cyber-crime gang – which has allegedly hacked more than 4,000 organisations since 2024 and extorted more than $140m (£105m) from victims.
Vladimir K was wanted in Germany for hacking into a logistics company in September 2024, encrypting data on its systems and extorting it for around $160,000 in cryptocurrency.
While his extradition was first reported in early October, external, the BBC can now confirm German police are including the Synnovis hack in their investigations.
