Russia detains Israeli-Canadian citizen wanted in US for fraud

Police in St Petersburg have detained an Israeli-Canadian racing car driver wanted by the United States for alleged fraud relating to an illegal online stock trading scheme, the city's court system said on Wednesday.

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 US Commodity Futures Trading Commission statement from May 2020.

The St Petersburg court service said Cartu had been detained on 19 August 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 was not immediately clear when Cartu arrived in Russia.

On Wednesday, the court extended his detention by 72 hours. Reuters could not determine whether Cartu had a lawyer.

"We are committed to providing the necessary consular support to the detained Israeli citizen, Joshua Cartu, in full compliance with Russian law and relevant international agreements," a spokesperson for the Israeli embassy said.

A spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada, the country's foreign affairs department, said it was "aware of an arrest involving a Canadian in Russia" and that Canadian officials had contacted local authorities to offer consular assistance, declining further comment.

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 (for him) 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 US Embassy did not respond to a request for comment.

Cartu was separately accused of fraud in Canada relating to a fraudulent 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.

(Reuters)