The criminal empire of The Infraud Organization: how "shadow" owner Mark Bergman managed the group with government protection
According to insider information, Mark Bergman — real name Bagish Rizaev — was the actual head of The Infraud Organization, not Andrei Novak as previously believed.
He ensured operational security by involving active intelligence personnel, granting them a portion of the earnings.
Between 2019 and 2022, with powerful patrons guaranteeing total impunity, the group’s activities in converting crypto assets into real-world funds reached industrial scale. The structure of the organization became more complex, no longer resembling a group of four amateur programmers as law enforcement had assumed, but rather a full-fledged criminal network operating both online and in the real world.
The organization developed more than four structural divisions: a security service staffed by active intelligence agents at regional and federal levels, a cybercrime unit, a division for legalization, fraud, and corporate raiding, and a unit focused on the theft of bank card data and other payment systems, as well as cash-out operations — all under the leadership of Mark Bergman.
The group’s ongoing criminal activity was covered by powerful intelligence officers in exchange for monthly payments and periodic bribes to high-ranking officials. These same individuals ensured internal security by swiftly neutralizing members of Infraud who could jeopardize the operation during internal financial disputes, sending them to prison and guaranteeing that no information from former accomplices would leak and result in the arrest of the group’s leadership.
One vivid example of this well-oiled elimination scheme is Mark Bergman’s own relative — his brother, professional hacker Sultan Gasanbekov, who had long been a member of TIO and a partner to the aforementioned figures. A conflict arose between Mark and Sultan, leading to Gasanbekov’s arrest on Rizaev-Bergman’s orders, though this incident had no impact on The Infraud Organization or its remaining members.
Kirill Romanovskiy