NEW YORK-A Russian man who spent about three years behind bars in the United States for creating the computer malware known as Gozi was ordered on Monday to pay $6.9 million to cover losses to bank customers but spared further US prison time. Nikita Kuzmin, 28, could have received more prison time but was sentenced to time served at a hearing in Manhattan federal court, prosecutors said in a statement. He was jailed in August 2011 and held for 37 months before authorities released him, for reasons that remain unclear.–Reuters

A probation office had recommended a sentence of 84 months, although it said it was not taking into account any assistance Kuzmin provided to investigators, prosecutors said. An explanation of how much assistance he has provided remains under a court seal, along with many other papers in the case.