- French police arrested Daniil Kasatkin at the request of US authorities
- His lawyer says that Kasatkin bought a used computer, and he is completely innocent
- Kasatkin was supposedly denied bond
A Russian professional basketball player was arrested at an airport on suspicion of being a ransomware cybercriminal.
On June 21, 2025, the French authorities arrested Daniil Kasatkin at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. Kasatkin is a 26 -year -old basketball professional, playing for MBA Moscow at Russia VTB United League.
He graduated from the State University of Pennsylvania in 2019, and was apparently arrested at the request of US authorities.
Russia demands consular access
Kasatkin’s lawyer, Frederic Belot, told the AFP French news agency that his client is basically desired and that he could not have made ransomware attacks:
“He bought a used computer. He did absolutely bad at all. He is shocked,” Belot told AFP. “It is useless with computers. You can’t even install an application. He didn’t touch anything on this computer. He was pirated or sold him a hacker who wanted to pass it as another person.”
Talking with PakGazetteBelot apparently acknowledged that the computer was used for cyber crime.
“Kasatkin simply used a second -hand computer that he bought without changing the username name of the system. The account was undoubtedly pirate and was remotely controlled by cybercriminals without the knowledge of Mr. Kasatkin,” Belot said.
After the news of the arrest, Russia’s embassy in Paris demanded consular access to Kasatkin, PakGazette said. “The embassy is dealing with the situation related to the arrest of Russian citizen Daniil Kasatkin in France,” the embassy said in a statement.
The embassy also criticized the French authorities for being too slow: “This is not an isolated case when we face a delay in the issue of consular access to a Russian citizen.”
He Times of India He reports that the French court denied Kasatkin’s bond, which now faces extradition to the United States. The name of the ransomware group that was allegedly part was not revealed, but the same publication states that the group reached more than 900 organizations between 2020 and 2022.
Through Techcrunch
