Russia takes action against Viagra Spammers

Russia which is usually a safe haven for spammers has taken unprecedented action against an alleged spammer by bringing forward a criminal case against him.

Igor Gusev, the general director of Despmedia is being accused of sending out emails advertising Viagra. Despmedia is a partner of the Russian pill pusher Glavmed, which authorities allege managed to rake in $120 million over the last three and a half years by flogging pills over the Internet.

A police spokeswoman confirmed that a case had been opened against a major spammer, though she declined to name the accused. Gusev's lawyer has confirmed that his client has been fingered and, doing his best to earn his fees, told Reuters that his client was innocent.

The Russian daily Kommersant reports that Gusev is actually being accused ofrunning a business without the required registration.

Moscow police raided Gusev's residence on Tuesday, though one wonders whether accessing his email server and finding emails advertising Viagra will be conclusive evidence.

For a number of years Russia has been seen as a major source and safe haven for spammers. Now it seems the authorities are taking action, even if they have to use various corporation laws to reach them.

Regardless of how the authorities decide to play this, Gusev, just like the Viagra advertisements claim, will likely have a hard time.