Russia apprehends an Israeli-Canadian citizen who is sought in the United States for fraud

An Israeli-Canadian race car driver who was wanted by the US for alleged fraud connected to an illicit online stock trading operation has been taken into custody by St. Petersburg police, the city’s court system announced on Wednesday.

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

According to the St. Petersburg court service, Cartu was taken into custody at Pulkovo airport on August 19. It stated that he was “wanted by the United States of America” and listed his citizenship as both Canadian and Israeli. It was unclear right away when Cartu got to Russia.

The judge extended his custody for an additional 72 hours on Wednesday. Reuters was unable to find out if Cartu had an attorney.

“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,” stated a representative for the Israeli Embassy.

The foreign affairs department of Canada, Global Affairs Canada, declined to comment further, saying only that it was “aware of an arrest involving a Canadian in Russia” and that Canadian officials had contacted Russian authorities to offer consular assistance.

According to the court, Cartu may face charges under Russia’s fraud statute, which has a maximum 10-year prison sentence.

“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 judge stated.

Washington and Moscow do not have a pact on extradition.

In response to a request for comment, the US Embassy remained silent.

The Ontario Securities Commission released a statement in September 2020 stating that Cartu was accused of fraud in Canada on its own in connection with a fraudulent binary options scam that targeted residents of Ontario.

Less than a month has passed since Russia and the West, led by the United States, carried out the biggest prisoner swap since the end of the Cold War, trading eight Russian prisoners imprisoned in the West for sixteen detainees detained in Belarus and Russia. This is when Cartu was arrested.