On April 3, the Tverskoy Court placed under arrest former and current owners, as well as executives of the IT company Sprut-Inform, which created a solution for monitoring and searching for “extremist” materials on Telegram, Novaya-Europe found.
Those arrested include Dmitry Razuvaev, Andrey and Elena Shlein, as well as Sergey Ineshin. The Shleins currently own and run Sprut-Inform, while Razuvaev and Ineshin are former owners of the company.
The company developed the Sprut-TEL analytical module, a system for monitoring media, Telegram, and other internet sources to detect unlawful content. According to the description on the developer’s website, the product can automatically find events and comments in open sources and analyze the reaction of Telegram channel audiences. The collected data can be used to prepare analytical reports and assess reputational risks.
The Sprut-TEL module was promoted by Russian propaganda outlets. In particular, RIA Novosti and TVC wrote about it. Those publications said the system could be used to “prevent attempts to recruit Russians to carry out sabotage.”
At the same time, when searching for Sprut-Inform tools on Telegram, a bot appears that mirrors the doxing service Khimera, Novaya-Europe found. At present, the bot is working and provides information similar to what can be obtained from the original Khimera. Such services for searching personal data are prohibited by the Criminal Code and fall under the article on the illegal use, collection, and transfer of computer information (Article 272.1 of the Criminal Code), which is the violation alleged against the defendants.
Sprut-Inform is a Russian IT company operating since 2013. It develops solutions for collecting, processing, and analyzing publicly available information about Russian organizations. The company’s website says it creates tools for managing counterparty risks, improving business market efficiency, conducts information security audits, and develops analytical methods; its clients are listed as large Russian companies and banks.
The provision of doxing services is not mentioned on the website.
No other details of the case are known. Those arrested were charged with the illegal use or storage of computer information and personal data by an organized group (Article 272.1 of the Criminal Code).
It is unknown whether this case is connected to the searches at Novaya Gazeta. However, on April 2, a motion to conduct an urgent search was filed with the same Tverskoy Court, Verstka wrote.