Israel Extradites Nomad Bridge Exploit Suspect to the United States

Israel extradited dual Israeli-Russian citizen Alexander Block to the United States on Oct. 29, 2026, to face federal criminal charges tied to the 2022 exploit of the Nomad cross-chain bridge, according to the Israeli State Attorney’s Office ¹. The transfer followed a series of unsuccessful appeals in Israel, concluding with a decision by Israeli Supreme Court President Isaac Amit rejecting an application for a further hearing ¹.

US authorities originally indicted Block—formerly known as Alexander Gurevich—in the US District Court for the Northern District of California in August 2023 ¹. The eight-count indictment charges him with computer offenses, transferring stolen property, and money laundering ¹. Federal prosecutors allege that on Aug. 1, 2022, Block detected a programming vulnerability in Nomad that allowed users to bypass checks confirming that collateral had been deposited ¹. He allegedly extracted approximately $2.8 million in digital tokens without locking the requisite backing assets, subsequently swapped the proceeds into alternative cryptocurrencies, and shuffled them across multiple wallets to obscure their origin ¹.

Extradition Upheld Over Code-Based Defense

Block was apprehended at Ben-Gurion Airport in May 2025 while attempting to board a flight to Russia, having changed his surname and secured a new passport shortly before his departure ¹. The Jerusalem District Court approved an extradition request from Washington in July 2025 ¹.

During his appeals, Block argued that his actions relied strictly on functions enabled by Nomad’s automated smart-contract software and contended that visible public ledger records negated money laundering allegations ¹. The Israeli Supreme Court rejected that defense, establishing that exploiting a flaw in code constitutes an unlawful computer breach even if the software execution was technically permitted ¹. The court also noted that public on-chain transparency does not disclose real-world entity identities or prevent illicit concealment ¹. The extradition operation was executed by Israel's International Department alongside local police and Interpol units ¹.