MANILA, Philippines – Philippine authorities on Thursday, April 9, arrested a Bulgarian national accused of committing cybercrimes, including stealing thousands of dollars from the bank accounts of Microsoft founder and the world’s richest man, Bill Gates. 

According to a report, operatives from the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) nabbed Konstantin Simeonov Kavrakov at around 9 pm Thursday as he was attempting to withdraw money “using different counterfeit bank accounts” at a PS Bank ATM machine along Quezon Avenue in Quezon City.

Kavrakov in 2011 was arrested in Paraguay for banking fraud, high-tech crime, forgery, and commercial fraud. 

In Quezon City, Kavrakov was caught with 9 PS Bank Quezon Avenue ATM receipts, several credit cards owned by different individuals, a blank credit card, a mobile phone, and a bag containing more than P76,000 in cash. 

The 32-year-old Bulgarian national will be charged for violating Republic Act 8484 or the Access Device Regulations Act. Reports from various law-enforcement agencies indicate that Kavrakov has been a member of the “Super Hacker Bulgarian Group” since 2004. 

The group, which initially targeted the United States and Europe, is involved in international cybercrime cases. 

Kavrakov has been tagged the “King of Hackers” by the international law enforcement community for his skill in stealing thousands through cloned cards. When he was arrested in Paraguay, authorities seized from Kavrakov over US$90,000. 

Philippine police have yet to determine how and why Kavrakov managed to be released from detention in Paraguay.  

The Bulgarian is currently held at the CIDG’s Anti-Fraud and Commercial Crimes unit.

In December, Bank of the Philippine Islands, one of the biggest banks in the Philippines, said it had information that Bulgarians could be behind the spate of ATM skimming cases reported in and around Metro Manila. – Rappler.com