Russian man linked to deadly London hospitals hack arrested
German police have detained a Russian man accused of being part of a cyber-crime gang which caused chaos at London hospitals and contributed to a patient's death.
The hack of blood testing company Synnovis in 2024 led to disrupted pathology services across several London hospitals and was the first cyber attack in history to be directly linked to a death.
German police have detained a Russian man accused of being part of a cyber-crime gang which caused chaos at London hospitals and contributed to a patient's death.
According to German officials, the suspect's holiday plans were intercepted and he was arrested by Japanese police when he entered the country.
The BBC can confirm German detectives are now including the incident in their investigation into the detained Russian and his associates.
The detained suspect is a 28-year-old Russian man named by German press as Vladimir K.
Vladimir K was wanted in Germany for hacking into a logistics company in September 2024, encrypting data on its systems and extorting it for around $160,000 in cryptocurrency.
While his extradition was first reported in early October , the BBC can now confirm German police are including the Synnovis hack in their investigations.
A critical incident was declared at some London hospitals after the provider was targeted by Qilin on 3 June 2024, with blood transfusion services severely disrupted, operations cancelled and emergency patients diverted elsewhere.
It was also behind the high profile and disruptive hack on Japanese beer maker Asahi in October 2025.
He was arrested in Japan in May when he travelled to the country for a holiday.
What happened
The hack of blood testing company Synnovis in 2024 led to disrupted pathology services across several London hospitals and was the first cyber attack in history to be directly linked to a death.
German police have detained a Russian man accused of being part of a cyber-crime gang which caused chaos at London hospitals and contributed to a patient's death.
What changed
According to German officials, the suspect's holiday plans were intercepted and he was arrested by Japanese police when he entered the country.
The BBC can confirm German detectives are now including the incident in their investigation into the detained Russian and his associates.
Who is affected
The detained suspect is a 28-year-old Russian man named by German press as Vladimir K.
Vladimir K was wanted in Germany for hacking into a logistics company in September 2024, encrypting data on its systems and extorting it for around $160,000 in cryptocurrency.
Why it matters
While his extradition was first reported in early October , the BBC can now confirm German police are including the Synnovis hack in their investigations.
A critical incident was declared at some London hospitals after the provider was targeted by Qilin on 3 June 2024, with blood transfusion services severely disrupted, operations cancelled and emergency patients diverted elsewhere.
Technical details
It was also behind the high profile and disruptive hack on Japanese beer maker Asahi in October 2025.
Response
He was arrested in Japan in May when he travelled to the country for a holiday.
A similar attack in 2020 by a different hacker group on a hospital in Düsseldorf in Germany led to a negligent homicide investigation being opened after an elderly patient died.
What remains unknown
But the hackers did not say if they were from Russia or Ukraine, and their claims were dismissed as an attempt to distance themselves from the cyber-crime extortion tactics Qilin were known for.
Attribution
BBC News: German police have detained a Russian man accused of being part of a cyber-crime gang which caused chaos at London hospitals and contributed to a patient's death.