Russia has agreed to release Frenchman Laurent Vinatier in exchange for the release of the 26-year-old basketball player. He has always denied his involvement in the network of computer hackers targeted by the United States.
An agreement for a double release. French researcher Laurent Vinatier was released this Thursday by Russia, in exchange for the release of Russian basketball player Daniil Kasatkin, who played with the Moscow MBA-MAI team until his arrest by the French authorities.
While he was in France with his fiancée, the 26-year-old young man was arrested at Paris’s Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport last July. The basketball player, who studied for a time in the United States, was the subject of an American arrest warrant for “conspiracy to commit computer fraud » et “computer fraud conspiracy”.
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Accused for facts dating from 2020
The network of computer hackers to which the basketball player is suspected of having been a part is said to have attacked some 900 companies with ransomware, including two American federal establishments. The facts date back to 2020-2022, for damage which has not been communicated.
Placed under extradition arrest since June 23, Daniil Kasatkin, aged 26, was accused by American justice of having negotiated the payment of ransoms within the framework of this network, which he has always denied. During the hearing, his partner, whom he had just proposed to marry, was in tears and was able to hug him for a few minutes during the hearing.
Player’s misunderstanding
“He bought a second-hand computer. He did absolutely nothing. He’s falling from the clouds”his lawyer, Maître Frédéric Bélot, told journalists including AFP. “He’s bad at computers and can’t even install an app. He didn’t touch anything on the computer: it was either hacked, or the hacker sold it to him to act under the guise of another person.he said.
The lawyer had pleaded in vain for his release, proposing a judicial review accompanied by conditions and the payment of bail. He mentioned in particular the impact of detention on his physical condition, and in particular on his muscle mass, which risks “seriously compromise the rest of his career”. “He doesn’t have a chair in his cell”, “no access to a sports hall or field”he explained.
The basketball player, who explained that he did not feel safe in prison due to the conflict between his country and Ukraine, indicated that his weight had already dropped from 95 to 89 kilos. The MBA announced on July 3 that Daniil Kasatkin was leaving the club, after four years in this team with whom he participated in 172 matches and was a two-time Russian Cup bronze medalist. He has already played in European basketball championships in Russia’s youth teams.
