The court issued the first sentence in Russia on cybercrime charges in the gaming industry.
The court of Yekaterinburg accused Andrey Kirsanov of selling cheats and bots for World of Tanks and World of Warships games. The developer was incriminated in creating, using, and distributing malicious computer programs, which led to heavy damage. As a result, the court sentenced him to two years and six months of deprivation of liberty. During this period, Kirsanov cannot leave Yekaterinburg and change his place of residence.
According to the investigation, in 2014, Andrey wrote a cheat for the World of Tanks game, with the help of which gamers could auto-aim at the weakest point of the enemy’s armor. He also created a bot that could independently play and accumulate game resources. The investigation estimated the damage caused to Wargaming at 670 million rubles (10.6 million USD). At the hearing, the defendant repented and pleaded guilty.
