Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 10, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
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Russia demands consular access for Daniil Kasatkin, a Russian basketball player detained in France on hacking suspicions. Kasatkin's lawyer claims his innocence.
MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia's embassy in Paris on Thursday demanded consular access to a Russian basketball player, Daniil Kasatkin, whose lawyer said was detained in France at the request of the United States on suspicion of being part of a hacking network.
"The embassy is dealing with the situation related to the detention of Russian citizen Daniil Kasatkin in France," the embassy said in a statement.
"This is not an isolated case when we are faced with a delay in the issue of consular access to a Russian citizen."
His lawyer, Frederic Belot, said that Kasatkin was detained on June 21.
The United States "suspects him of being part of a hacking network using ransomware against U.S. companies and federal institutions," Belot said, adding that Kasatkin was innocent.
"Mr. Kasatkin is the victim of a serious miscarriage of justice" as he lacked "any computer expertise," he said.
"Kasatkin simply used a second-hand computer he purchased without changing the system username. The account was undoubtedly hacked and was remotely controlled by cybercriminals without Mr. Kasatkin's knowledge," Belot said.
(Reporting by Reuters in Moscow and Paris; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Ros Russell)
Daniil Kasatkin is a Russian basketball player who was detained in France.
Kasatkin was detained at the request of the United States, which suspects him of being part of a hacking network.
Russia's embassy in Paris has demanded consular access to Kasatkin, highlighting delays in such access for Russian citizens.
Kasatkin's lawyer, Frederic Belot, asserts that he is innocent and a victim of a serious miscarriage of justice.
The lawyer states that Kasatkin used a second-hand computer without changing the system username, which was hacked and remotely controlled by cybercriminals.
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