Two brothers in France are suspected of running a website that sold stolen intimate images of more than 17,000 women and girls from various countries, according to infohub.kz.
Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said the brothers, aged 21 and 25, were arrested on October 6 in northern France. During the investigation, authorities seized cryptocurrency worth €700,000, equivalent to about $782,500. French investigators were assisted by police and judicial authorities in the United States.
According to the prosecutor's office, the site NudeLeaksTeens sold "packages" of intimate photos and other materials. The sources of these materials varied: hacking social media accounts, gaining victims' trust for sexual exploitation, and using images posted without consent by someone seeking revenge.
Among the victims are minors.
Users of the site were also offered cryptocurrency in exchange for information that could identify the women and girls depicted in the images.
Beccuau urged victims to contact the French police unit for combating cybercrime.
Earlier, Kursiv wrote that Kazakhstanis would be punished for forwarding intimate photos and videos.