Russian basketball player arrested in France on hacking charges
French police, at the request of the United States, have arrested Russian basketball player Daniil Kasatkin, who is accused of involvement in a hacking group.
French police, at the request of the United States, have arrested Russian basketball player Daniil Kasatkin, who is accused of involvement in a hacking group.
Daniil Kasatkin, 26, plays for IBA Moscow, a team that is part of the VTB United League, which includes mostly Russian clubs, as well as one team each from Belarus and Kazakhstan.
He was arrested at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris on June 21, TechCrunch reports .
This became known on July 8 during a hearing in Paris, where a decision was made to continue the Russian's detention, French media reported.
US authorities believe Kasatkin is a member of a hacking group that carried out ransomware attacks that affected about 900 companies, including two US federal agencies, between 2020 and 2022.
Kasatkin's lawyer, Frederic Belot, said his client was innocent.
"He bought a used computer. He did absolutely nothing wrong. He's shocked," the lawyer says.
"He doesn't know how to use computers. He can't even install any programs. He hasn't touched anything on this computer. It was either hacked or sold to him by a hacker who wanted to impersonate someone else."
Russians arrested in the US for sending $10 million worth of military equipment parts to Russia
Russians arrested in the US for sending $10 million worth of military equipment parts to Russia
Russian founder of crypto exchange Bitzlato arrested for helping drug addicts launder $700 million
Russian founder of crypto exchange Bitzlato arrested for helping drug addicts launder $700 million
Read the country's main IT news in our Telegram
Read the country's main IT news in our Telegram
