REvil gang member identified living luxury lifestyle in Russia, says German media German news outlets claim to have identified a member of the infamous REvil ransomware gang – who reportedly lives the life of Riley off his ill-gotten gains. The gang member, nicknamed Nikolay K by Die Zeit newspaper and the Bayerische Rundfunk radio station, reportedly owns a €70,000 watch with a Bitcoin address engraved on …
What's the difference between that and e.g. a big corporation that don't pay taxes (effectively stealing from all of us) and their owner casually going to space?
You are comparing apples to utility poles/
There are several differences. One is the big corporation doesn't do illegal things. It's immoral, but that's different. Also, the big corporation doesn't make money by extortion.
That guy is a criminal, probably protected by local policed thanks to corruption. He will end in jail the minute he puts a foot outside Russia or a Russian-annexed land.
I fail to see the immorality of paying the least amount, which is "exactly" the amount of taxes you owe!
Do you add a few extra thousand to you tax bill just to be a moral citizen?
Fact, corporations do not pay taxes, they pass that expense on to their customers or reduce other expenses like LABOR!
Maybe a quick way to get him banged up, would be to report him to the Russian tax authorities. If there anything like the IRS or actually any tax authority I've had to deal with, they will be very thorough in making sure he's paid every cent owed ("The Man with the rubber glove was surprisingly gentle!"). And since I would be pretty certain he would have skimped a bit here and there, he's very likely I would imagine to be having a trip inside. At the very least it would be a very uncomfortable period for him, and it might shake a few dodgy dealings in Russia loose as well.
" If there anything like the IRS or actually any tax authority I've had to deal with"
Whilst some may think this is a joke, a Russian tax raid is a pretty serious matter involving flashbangs and masked men carrying machine guns. They don't mess around, mainly to prevent any evidence destruction.
Of course they don't raid anyone tied to the kleptocratic leadership and they're far more likely to raid someone who displeased the Kremlin, but these are minor points - those who are "favourites" of the Kremlin can change to "enemies" at the flick of a switch, as Russian energy companies found out a few years ago. All that's needed for this to happen with the crypto gangs is to find the right leverage (right now they're _VERY_ careful not to attack Russian assets and it's been postulated that one way of hastening their demise might be a few false flag attacks emulating their activities)
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