Russia detains Israeli-Canadian citizen wanted in US for fraud

The man, Joshua Cartu, is wanted, alongside his brothers David and Jonathan and several others, for allegedly operating a fraudulent binary options trading scheme between 2013 and 2018 that defrauded investors of millions of dollars, according to a U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission statement from May 2020.

The St Petersburg court service said Cartu had been detained on Aug. 19 at Pulkovo airport. It identified him as a citizen of Israel and Canada and said he was “wanted by the United States of America.” It wasn’t immediately clear when Cartu arrived in Russia.

On Wednesday, the court extended his detention by 72 hours. Reuters was not able to determine if Cartu had a lawyer.

The Canadian and Israeli embassies did not immediately respond to comment requests.

The court said Cartu could be charged under Russia’s fraud statute, which carries a punishment of up to 10 years in prison.

“Cartu is not employed, has no permanent place of residence in St. Petersburg, but he has a passport of a foreign citizen, which makes it possible to cross the border of the Russian Federation without hindrance, thus preventing an extradition inspection,” the court said.

Moscow and Washington do not have an extradition treaty.

The U.S. embassy did not immediately respond to a comment request.

Cartu was separately accused of fraud in Canada relating to a fradulent binary options scheme targeting Ontarians, according to a September 2020 statement from the Ontario Securities Commission.

Cartu’s arrest comes less than a month after Russia and the West, led by the United States, conducted the largest prisoner swap since the Cold War, exchanging 16 people held in Russia and Belarus for eight Russians jailed in the West.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.