2022 GTA 6 Hacker Arion Kurtaj Set for November 9 Trial
Arion Kurtaj, the hacker behind the 2022 Grand Theft Auto VI footage leak, is scheduled to stand trial at Woolwich Crown Court on November 9, just 10 days before the game's planned release.
Arion Kurtaj's Upcoming Trial
In a post on LinkedIn, Red Lion Chambers, the barristers' chambers involved in Kurtaj's defence, confirmed that he is scheduled to stand trial at Woolwich Crown Court on November 9, 2026, just a mere 10 days before the November 19 release of GTA VI.
The post also stated that Kurtaj had been assessed as fit to plead following two years of treatment at a secure hospital.
The upcoming trial follows proceedings in 2023, in which he was found unfit to plead. Due to this, the jury did not determine whether he was guilty, but instead considered whether he had carried out the alleged acts. It found that he had carried out the acts relating to 12 offences.
Kurtaj was subsequently given an indefinite hospital order under the Mental Health Act.
The 2025 Court of Appeal Judgment
The 2023 proceedings were later subject to an appeal, with Kurtaj challenging aspects of the case in September 2025.
The Court of Appeal ruled that evidence of six prior hacking-related offences, which Kurtaj had pleaded guilty to in 2021, should not have been admitted. However, the judges concluded that this did not undermine the jury's findings, as the remaining evidence was sufficiently strong. On that basis, the appeal was dismissed.
The full Court of Appeal judgment, Arion Kurtaj v R [2025] EWCA Crim 1163, is available through the National Archives' official Find Case Law service.
Sources:
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/cybercrime-criminallaw-seriouscrime-ugcPost-7490389990858809344-FJ6b/
- https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewca/crim/2025/1163
- https://www.cityoflondon.police.uk/news/city-of-london/news/2023/december/city-of-london-police-urge-parents-to-be-aware-of-their-childrens-internet-usage-after-teenager-hackers-sentenced/