France frees Russian man wanted in US cyberhacking case
Daniil Kasatkin, a Russian basketball player arrested in France last year and facing possible extradition to the U.S., has been released and returned to Moscow, his lawyer said Thursday.
Kasatkin was detained at a Paris airport on June 21 at the request of the U.S., which accused him of involvement in a ransomware hacking network targeting American companies and federal agencies. He has denied the allegations, and his lawyer, Frederic Belot, said Kasatkin has no computer expertise and that his device had been compromised by cybercriminals, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
His release comes two weeks after the Kremlin said it was in talks with France over the case of French researcher Laurent Vinatier, who was sentenced in 2024 to three years in a Russian prison under “foreign agent” laws. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow had made an unspecified “offer” to Paris, leaving the decision to French authorities.
Kasatkin’s return to Russia ends a high-profile extradition case and highlights ongoing tensions in cybercrime and diplomatic exchanges between Russia, France, and the United States.
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