EU – Baltic States, Latvia, Legislation, Technology, USA

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Calovskis, 29, entered the plea in federal court in Manhattan a day after being extradited from Latvia to face charges that he wrote some of the computer code that made the so-called "Gozi" virus so effective. Calovskis has been charged with engaging in a conspiracy to commit bank fraud, access device fraud, computer intrusion, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

He faces up to 67 years in prison.

An indictment against Calovskis was unsealed in January 2013 when prosecutors announced separate charges against Nikita Kuzmin, a Russian whom they say created the virus, and Mihai Ionut Paunescu, a Romanian who allegedly ran a service that enabled its distribution. U.S. authorities have called the virus one of the most financially destructive in history, infecting at least 40,000 computers in the United States alone, including more than 160 NASA computers.

Prosecutors say it was used to access personal bank account information and steal millions of dollars from customer accounts globally.

On these charges, the United States requested Latvia to extradite Calovskis.

The Latvian government decided in August of 2013 to extradite Calovskis to the United States, however his attorneys turned to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), claiming that the extradition be put on hold until Calovskis' case is reviewed by court, and the ECHR halted the extradition process.

Calovskis decided to go to the United States to stand in front of the court of his own volition.

Kuzmin pleaded guilty in May 2011 and has been cooperating with the investigation. Pauneschu was arrested in Romania in December 2012, but he has yet to appear in U.S. court to face charges.