Neo: The hacker who tweeted bankers' pay details

Latvian hacker Neo arrested

For months in Latvia, bankers have had a enemy; it's not been the economic recession or the Icelandic volcano, but a hacker called Neo who has been leaking information on bankers and establishments who 'cashed in' during the recession.

Using the likes of Twitter, the hacker called Neo has been revealing the finances of leading Latvia firms, including pay details of managers from a Latvian bank that received a bail-out, but didn't take the salary cuts they promised to. Other leaks have shown state-owned companies awarding bonuses to staff while asking the government for financial aid.

Neo, who claims to be a member of the People's Army of the Fourth Awakening, has been embraced as a cult hero in the country and dubbed a 'virtual Robin Hood'.

Although it is not entirely clear where Neo got his information from, the Fourth Awakening People's Army has claimed that they downloaded more than seven million confidential tax documents from the State Revenue Service.

Despite his criminal actions, the fact that he has exposed several corrupt bankers has endeared him to the Latvian public, who are among the worse suffering populations in Europe with unemployment at 23 percent. As such, the people are not best pleased at those lining their own pockets in times of such strife.

Free Neo!

This was highlighted yesterday, when the Lativan police announced they had identified and arrested 'Neo'.

Within hours it was revealed that Neo is in fact Ilmars Polkans, a researcher in artificial intelligence at the University of Latvia's computer science department. His arrest has prompted hundreds of protesters chalking slogans outside government buildings in Riga calling for Polkan's release.

Among the slogans were "In Latvia, to be smart and honest is a crime" and "Don't forget who elected you".

Although Polkan has confessed to the charges and proceedings are underway, he has been freed from detention until a trial.

While it may be a sigh of relief for the bankers, Polkan's whistle-blowing actions are a sign that when it comes to exposing corruption in the industry, revelations can come from anywhere and today's technology can make leaving the nation's banking elite red-faced all that much easier.

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