French authorities have arrested a professional Russian basketball player who has been accused of being a member of a ransomware gang, according to a newswire from the French Press.
Daniil Kasatkin plays for MBA Moscow, part of the VTB United League, which is primarily made up of Russian clubs and one team from Belarus and Kazakhstan. Casatkin played temporarily for Pennsylvania during the 2018-2019 season.
AFP reported that US authorities believe Casatokin Moonlight as a ransomware hacker. Casatkin was arrested at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris on June 21st.
Kasatkin's lawyer Frederic Belot told AFP that his client was innocent.
“He bought a second-hand computer. He didn't do anything wrong at all. He was shocked,” Bellot told AFP.
“He's useless on a computer. He can't even install the app. He didn't touch this computer anything. It was hacked or sold to him by a hacker who wanted to hand over himself as someone else.”