Philippine authorities have accused two Russians of stealing $7 million worth of XRP tokens

In total, Vladimir Avdeev and Sergey Yashchuk stole 12.2 million XRP worth about $7 million.

As a result of the investigation, Philippine authorities found that the defendants used their "full knowledge of the cryptocurrency exchange's network infrastructure and security systems" to gain illegal access to the company's servers, bypassing security protocols.

Suspicious system logins were discovered that create a clear pattern. The suspects were well versed in network architecture, secure access mechanisms and server infrastructure," said a spokesperson for the DOJ Philippines.

Investigators found that the 12.2 million XRP stolen from cryptocurrency exchange Coins.ph was subsequently transferred to several trading platforms, the name of which was not disclosed.

It is not yet known what punishment the two Russians will face. However, Philippine authorities have already called the actions of the accused unprecedented, as they used insider information to plan the theft of cryptoassets.

Philippine Justice Secretary Jesus Remulla said that the case "underscores the changing strategies of hackers."

They are constantly developing better methods to exploit weaknesses and launder their loot," he said.