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From the "little king" of the Iranian hacking scene to the arrest in Montenegro - Who is Amir Barati and why is the US looking for him?

2026-08-21 12:09:59Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

From the "little king" of the Iranian hacking scene to the arrest in

The case of Iranian citizen Amir Barati, who was arrested in Kotor in June, has not yet reached the hands of the Montenegrin Ministry of Justice, which will make the final decision regarding the United States' request for his extradition.

US authorities attribute Barati's role in a multi-year hacking operation linked to Iran.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty learns that the case is before the pre-trial judge of the High Court in Podgorica, after which the judicial panel must determine whether the conditions for extradition have been met, namely whether the case will be forwarded to the Ministry of Justice of Montenegro.

Meanwhile, a new US indictment reveals previously unknown details about a group of 17 Iranians who are suspected of carrying out massive cyberattacks on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

If extradited to the US, Barati could become the first of the 17 accused Iranians to face American justice.

Montenegro's Justice Minister, Bojan Bozovic, told Radio Free Europe (RFE/RL) that the Supreme Court panel "should probably consider this case in the coming days."

"If they find that the conditions have been met and if there is no complaint, then the case will be forwarded to me, namely the Ministry of Justice. Of course, we will make the decision after evaluating the case," said Bozovic.

He added that "the US interest exists and there is no doubt that they expect him to be extradited."

"But, before that, I need to see the court's decision, that is, until the court decides and determines that the preliminary conditions have been met."

Barati, according to REL information, arrived in Montenegro from Turkey, whose citizenship he also holds, in June 2026. Shortly after arriving, on June 25, he was arrested in Kotor in an operation by the Montenegrin Police in cooperation with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Montenegrin police said at the time that they had arrested a 39-year-old man wanted by the US for organized hacking attacks, computer fraud and identity theft, and that he was linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Barati's lawyer, Milena Knežević, was unable to provide further details about the extradition process, nor about the reasons for his arrival in Montenegro.

The US officially sent Montenegro its extradition request for Barat on August 7.

What was Amir Barati's role in the hacker group?

The entire cyberattack operation, according to the American indictment, began around 2013 with the establishment of the Mabna Institute company in Iran.

Prokurorët pretendojnë se organizata drejtohej nga Gholamreza Rafatnejad dhe Ehsan Mohammadi dhe se ajo kishte ngritur një rrjet hakerësh dhe bashkëpunëtorësh, të cilët zhvillonin fushata të vjedhjes së të dhënave dhe të ndërhyrjeve të paautorizuara në sisteme kompjuterike për nevojat e institucioneve iraniane.

Sipas aktakuzës, Mabna Institute zhvilloi, të paktën nga viti 2013, një fushatë të koordinuar sulmesh kibernetike që kishte për shënjestër universitete, kompani dhe institucione shtetërore.

Në mesin e objektivave të fushatës, sipas autoriteteve amerikane, ishin edhe Departamenti amerikan i Punës, Komisioni Federal për Rregullimin e Energjisë (FERC), shtetet e Havait dhe Indianës, Departamenti i Arsimit i Indianës, Kombet e Bashkuara dhe UNICEF-i.

Aktakuza thotë se anëtarët e rrjetit, përmes vjedhjes së kredencialeve të punonjësve, tentuan të siguronin qasje në informacione konfidenciale të institucioneve shtetërore dhe ndërkombëtare.

Sipas aktakuzës, hakerët shënjestruan edhe 144 universitete në Shtetet e Bashkuara, 178 universitete në shtete të tjera, të paktën 42 kompani amerikane dhe 11 kompani të huaja.

Prokurorët amerikanë pretendojnë se gjatë operacionit u vodhën më shumë se 31 terabajt të dhëna akademike dhe pronë intelektuale, ndërsa llogaritë e komprometuara të universiteteve dhe informacionet e mbledhura u përdorën në dobi të Gardës Revolucionare Islamike të Iranit dhe institucioneve të tjera iraniane.

Metoda kryesore e grupit ishin email-et e llojit spear-phishing, të dërguara te profesorë dhe studiues, në të cilat sulmuesit paraqiteshin si sisteme bibliotekash ose ofrues të burimeve akademike.

Viktimat drejtoheshin më pas te faqe të rreme që të kyçeshin, të cilat mblidhnin kredencialet e tyre universitare.

Këto të dhëna më pas përdoreshin për qasje në bazat e të dhënave të bibliotekave, portalet kërkimore dhe llogaritë e email-it. Operacioni ishte sistematik dhe në shkallë të gjerë, ndërsa grupi mbante lista të përditësuara të profesorëve të synuar në qindra institucione, thuhet në aktakuzë.

Aktivitetet më pas u zgjeruan edhe ndaj kompanive private, agjencive shtetërore dhe organizatave ndërkombëtare.

Sipas aktakuzës amerikane, dëmi i shkaktuar universiteteve vlerësohet në të paktën 3.4 miliardë dollarë.

Amir Barati nuk përshkruhet si një nga organizatorët e rrjetit, por si haker dhe bashkëpunëtor i Mabna Institute.

Emri i tij nuk ishte në mesin e nëntë personave të akuzuar në rastin fillestar të vitit 2018, por u shtua në aktakuzën e zgjeruar ndaj gjithsej 17 personave, e cila u bë publike në vitin 2026.

Në aktakuzë thuhet se Barati mori pjesë në përcjelljen e fushatave spear-phishing, në shkëmbimin e llogarive të komprometuara të përdoruesve, në hartimin e listave të objektivave të mundshëm, në vëzhgimin e rrjeteve kompjuterike dhe në krijimin e mesazheve të mashtrimit elektronik.

The prosecution alleges that one of the defendants, Arman Kahzadian, in June 2015 sent Barati access data for compromised university accounts, and a month later also data for the accounts of victims from the private sector.

Barati is charged with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion, wire fraud, unauthorized access to computers for financial gain and aggravated identity theft. Unlike some of the other defendants, he is not named in the part of the indictment that relates to subsequent attacks, including the cyberattack on the American media company HBO.

Due to its alleged role in hacking operations, the US Treasury Department had included the Mabna Institute and several individuals associated with this network on the list of sanctioned entities in 2018.

Who is Amir Barati?

Little is known about Amir Barati from the American indictment, where he is described as an Iranian hacker and associate of the Mabna Institute.

However, an investigation by the Iran International media says that he is one of the most well-known names in the Iranian hacking scene and that, since the mid-2000s, he is suspected of having founded the Iran Black Hats Team hacker group, and later the Digital Boys Underground Team, together with Arman Kahzadiani, who is also among the defendants in the Mabna case.

According to the same source, Barati was born in 1986 in Mashhad, in northeastern Iran, and in hacker circles he used the nickname "Kinglet" or "little king."

Available data from the Iranian judicial database shows that a procedure was conducted against Barati in 2010, on suspicion of hacking state websites and the website of the then Iranian president, as well as on charges of propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The case was later closed. Iran International writes that Barati, after his arrest, began cooperating with Iranian intelligence structures, citing anonymous sources whose claims could not be independently confirmed.

Iran International also says that Barati left Iran in 2021 and moved to Turkey, where, according to the media outlet's research, he obtained Turkish citizenship. This has also been confirmed by his lawyer in Montenegro.

Reward for information on five accused

On the same day the indictment was made public, the US Department of State, through its Rewards for Justice program, offered a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the location of five of the defendants in the Mabna case.

The reward has been offered to Behzad Mesri, Mojtaba Galekuhi, Arman Kahzadian, Keyvan Fayaz and Saber Shahbazi Ballojeh.

The US Department of Justice says the program seeks information about individuals who, acting at the direction or under the control of a foreign government, engage in certain malicious cyber activities that violate US law. (REL)


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