Morocco Arrests French National Wanted In US For Cybercrime

Morocco’s national security authorities have apprehended a French national, Sebastien Raoult, who is wanted by the US for alleged cybercrimes.

Rabat – Morocco’s national security authorities have apprehended a French national, Sebastien Raoult, who is wanted by the US for alleged cybercrimes.

After arresting and detaining the 21-year-old French national at the Rabat-Sale airport, Moroccan authorities determined the suspect was indeed the alleged criminal wanted in the US, police sources told the media.

At the time of his arrest, on May 31, Raoult was on an Interpol red notice for alleged involvement in a cyber-piracy case, the Moroccan police source told Spanish media.

Under Interpol red notices, member countries are asked to temporarily detain suspects while awaiting extradition or other possible legal action.

While the police source declined to provide any additional details, the source specified that the arrest was the result of the cooperation framework between Morocco’s General Directorate for National Security (DGSN) and the FBI.

The suspect’s attorney is currently requesting Moroccan authorities to extradite his client to France rather than to the United States, maintaining that he had only ever been to Morocco and France, according to Spanish media.

Morocco’s general prosecutor has not yet made any comments on the case.

Raoult, a computer science college student, has been held in Rabat since first landing on Moroccan soil in June, according to media reports.

US intelligence authorities suspect that the French student is affiliated with ShinyHunters, an infamous cyberterrorism group believed to be “behind some of the most notable data breaches that have been made public” in the past two years, according to the cyber intelligence website Intel471.

The FBI believes that the group has been involved in multiple cyber attack operations that had targeted US companies, including tech giant Microsoft.

Reports from French media indicate that Raoult is wanted in the US for his involvement in operations of fraud and identity theft. According to the French magazine L’Obs, the young man could face a life-time prison sentence for the said charges.