A prime suspect in a significant 2022 U.S. cryptocurrency hack has been captured in Israel—reportedly attempting to escape the country using a new name and passport. Dual Russian-Israeli citizen Alexander Gurevich, 47, was arrested last Thursday, May 1, trying to flee to Russia from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, allegedly using travel documents with a fabricated surname. His arrest is reported to have, for the first time, publicly revealed the identity of the primary suspect in the case.
US Charges and Extradition Request
In the U.S., Gurevich is charged with taking part in computer-related activities, laundering millions, and shifting stolen goods. These charges are reportedly in connection with a cryptocurrency hack in 2022, which prosecutors allege nearly bankrupted a California-based blockchain company. Details contained in the U.S. extradition request claim Gurevich purportedly extorted $500,000 after allegedly stealing digital tokens from a crypto wallet linked to the hack. On Friday, May 2, Israel’s State Attorney’s Office International Department filed a petition with the Jerusalem District Court to declare Gurevich’s extradition to the U.S. on charges against him as legally permissible.
Gurevich’s Movements Attempt to Evade Extradition
New information has surfaced about Gurevich’s activities right before his apprehension. He is a German national and has Israeli and Russian dual citizenship. He allegedly relocated to Israel approximately three and a half years ago, though authorities claim he has spent most of his time outside the country. He entered Israel on April 19.
Not long after that, Gurevich was legally obliged to appear before the District Court in Jerusalem to face an extradition hearing after Justice Minister Yariv Levin signed an order for his extradition. Gurevich is believed to have taken steps to leave Israel around that time too. On April 29, he legally changed his name to “Alexander Block” in Israel’s Population Registry. He allegedly received a passport under that name at Ben-Gurion Airport the following day, April 30. Prosecutors allege that he was arrested at the airport on May 1 after attempting to board a flight to Russia. He was brought to court in handcuffs on May 2.
The Details of the Nomad Hack
The focus of the matter is one of the largest breaches in cryptocurrency on August 1, 2022. As the report notes, a few days prior, Gurevich had returned to Israel. He had been living abroad for five years prior to this, and he gained Israeli citizenship in 2017. On this date, August 1, 2022, a U.S.-based crypto company known as Nomad suffered a significant hack on its platform, losing approximately $190 million in digital assets. It has been claimed that the Nomad incident is one of several notorious cyberattacks on crypto platforms during that year that aided the total industry losses exceeding $1 billion in 2022.
Exploitation Allegations, Contact, and Gurevich Actions
According to prosecutors, Alexander Gurevich found and exploited a specific weakness in Nomad’s system. They further claim he withdrew about $2.89 million worth of tokens. The source describes how others shared the same exploit a mere four hours after Gurevich had supposedly withdrawn the funds and were able to drain the wallet. Total losses inflicted by the attack reached an estimated $186 million.
In the U.S. extradition request, it is alleged that Gurevich, while purportedly in Israel on August 4th, 2022, used Telegram to contact Nomad’s CTO James Prestwich, impersonating a different individual. Report He stated he had been trying to exploit Nomad’s systems “in an amateurish way” and apologized for “the trouble he caused.” He also told this to the report during a phone call where he claimed to have sent about $162,000 to a recovery wallet. He also “demanded payment to the amount of $500,000 for what he claimed was a significant lapse of cybersecurity.”
Investigation Initiation and Issuers Response
After Gurevich’s alleged contact, it is claimed that Prestwich directly engaged with him, suggesting he asked for the reward to be stated in the request that he would send over Telegram if he intended to issue one, thereby bypassing the company’s hierarchical structure.
As per reports, on the following day—August 5, 2022—Prestwich replied, stating that Nomad would pay “10% of the value of the asset he had stolen, and no more.” It was reported that Gurevich stated he would consult his lawyer about the offer, but afterwards, he ceased all communications with the firm completely. After this sequence of events, it is reported that the FBI’s San Francisco field office purportedly initiated a criminal investigation surrounding the hack and Gurevich’s purported involvement.
Charges and Extradition Steps
U.S. law enforcement authorities were driven to issue an eight-count indictment for the alleged Alexander Gurevich. This was a part of an active criminal investigation attributed to the July 16, 2023, filing of an indictment in the Californian Northern District. Alongside the indictment, an arrest warrant was issued, formally permitting his capture. The United States formally submitted a request seeking Gurevich’s extradition from Israel in December 2024, officially setting into motion the judicial framework necessary to transfer him to face charges in the U.S. legal system.
Comparing the US and Israeli Legal Systems
The possible penalties he faces in the United States far exceed those that he would face under Israeli law for analogous offenses. Five of the counts in the U.S. indictment each carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. By contrast, the Israeli maximum sentence for each of the four related computer offenses is, according to one report, a mere three years.
The U.S. maximum penalty for a money laundering charge is 20 years, double what is possible under Israeli law. That source also points out that if Gurevich is extradited and tried in the U.S., he won’t be able to convert his sentence to one served in Israel, because he did not cease being a resident of Israel at the time the crimes were alleged to have been committed.
Custody and Legal Representation
The extradition case is being dealt with by attorney Avi Kronenberg of the State Attorney’s Office International Department. Reports indicate that the Operational Coordination Department of the Israeli Police National Fraud Unit’s International Investigations Sub-Division and the Tel Aviv Fraud Division jointly supervised the arrest operation at Ben-Gurion Airport. After his arrest, Judge Einat Avman-Moller mandated detention for Alexander Gurevich-Block (the name he legally took) post his arrest. A hearing is set subsequently to May 4 for him. He is being defended by the Public Defender’s Office.
