Core members of the Qilin ransomware gang were arrested in Japan and extradited to Germany, involved in extorting approximately 165,000 US dollars in Bitcoin

A 28-year-old core member of the globally renowned ransomware group Qilin has been arrested in Japan and was extradited to Germany on October 2. Reports indicate that the man is suspected of illegally infiltrating the systems of a logistics company in Germany in September 2024, encrypting data, and demanding a ransom of approximately $165,000 (about 26 million yen) in Bitcoin.

Investigations show that he was responsible for building the attack systems within the Qilin criminal network and took a cut from the ransoms collected by various branch execution teams. Japanese police apprehended him while he was traveling to Osaka in late May this year, and he was subsequently handed over to German authorities after being deemed eligible by the Tokyo High Court. Qilin operates under a "ransomware as a service" (RaaS) model and previously claimed responsibility for a cyber attack on Japan's Asahi Group in 2025.