Russian Basketball Player Arrested in France at Request of United States
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Russian Basketball Player Arrested in France at Request of United States
Daniil Kasatkin, 26, played college basketball at Penn State University. He was arrested at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport on June 21, officials said. Authorities in the United States accuse him of negotiating payoffs for a group that hacked the computer systems of around 900 companies.
Daniil Kasatkin, 26, who played college basketball at Penn State University and most recently for Moscow’s MBA-MAI, was arrested at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport on June 21, officials said.
Authorities in the United States accuse him of negotiating payoffs for a group that hacked the computer systems of around 900 companies and two federal government entities in the U.S. between 2020 and 2022, demanding money to end their attacks.
Kasatkin, 26, denies the accusations.
“He bought a used computer. He did absolutely nothing wrong. He’s shocked,” his lawyer, Frederic Belot, told AFP.
“He’s useless with computers. He can’t even install an app. He didn’t touch anything on this computer. It was either hacked, or sold to him by a hacker who wanted to pass himself off as someone else,” Belot added.
At U.S. request, France jails Russian basketball player Daniil Kasatkin on suspicion of ransomware conspiracy — Meduza
Daniil Kasatkin was arrested on June 21 at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. The 26-year-old was charged with conspiracy to commit computer fraud. According to U.S. investigators, he acted as an accomplice in a hacker group’s ransomware attacks.
Kasatkin’s defense attorney, Frederic Belo, maintains that his client “has poor computer skills” and does not even know how to install software. “He bought a used computer. […] He didn’t touch anything on the computer; it was either hacked, or a hacker sold it [to him] to act under another person’s name,” said Belo. The lawyer requested Kasatkin’s release under judicial supervision and on bail, noting that detention could affect his physical condition and threaten his basketball career.
Kasatkin played for MBA-MAI, a basketball team that competes in the VTB United League, an international professional men’s basketball league. On July 3, days after Kasatkin’s arrest, spokespeople announced his departure after four years with the team.