Bulgarian hacker who stole from Bill Gates arrested in QC

MANILA - A Bulgarian national accused of committing cybercrimes, including stealing thousands of dollars from bank accounts of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, has been arrested in Quezon City, authorities said.

Konstantin Simeonov Kavrakov, 31, was nabbed by combined agents of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) and the Philippine National Police - Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) on Thursday evening while he was withdrawing money at a bank along Quezon Avenue using different fake bank cards.

Recovered from him were seven assorted credit cards, nine ATM receipts, a mobile phone, and a bag containing cash amounting to P76,570.

Kavrakov, who is now being held at the office of PNP-CIDG's Anti-Fraud and Other Commercial Crimes Unit, will face charges for violating Republic Act 8484 or the Access Device Regulations Act.

According to Interpol reports, Kavrakov is believed to be engaged in ATM/credit card fraud and cloning. He is allegedly a member of the so-called Super Hacker Bulgarian Group (SHBG) involved in international cybercrime cases.

He and three other Bulgarians were arrested in Paraguay back in 2011 for banking and commercial fraud, high-tech crime, and forgery.

According to the PAOCC, there is no report on how Kavrakov managed to secure his release in Paraguay. The PAOCC and the PNP-CIDG are still checking the date Kavrakov arrived in the Philippines and the places where he stayed.

The suspect's possible companions are also being tracked down, the PAOCC said.