St Petersburg Police Arrest Israeli-Canadian Fugitive US Fraud Case Of Fraud Fraud Fraud Of Millions Of Dollars

UNSPLASH/Vitali Adutskevich ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - Police in St Petersburg Russia have arrested an Israeli-Canadian rider wanted by the United States for a fraud case related to illegal online shares.

The man, Joshua Cartu, is wanted alongside his brothers David and Jonathan as well as several others, for allegedly operating a fake bodybuilding trade scheme between 2013 and 2018 that scammed investors of millions of dollars, according to a US Commodity Futures Trading Commission statement from May 2020.

St Petersburg court service said Cartu was detained on August 19 at Pulkovo airport.

The statement identified him as an Israeli and Canadian citizen and said Cartu was wanted by the United States.

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

A spokesman for Global Affairs Canada, the country's foreign department, said it was aware of an arrest involving a Canadian in Russia.

Canadian officials have contacted local authorities to offer consular assistance.

The Israeli embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The court said Cartu could be charged under Russian fraud laws, which could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.

Cartu doesn't work, has no permanent residence in St. Petersburg, but he has a foreign national passport, which allows (for him) to cross the border of the Russian Federation without a hitch, thus preventing extradition. examination," the court said.

Moscow and Washington do not have extradition agreements.

The US Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Cartu is separately accused of fraud in Canada of being linked to a fake binary option targeting Ontarian citizens, according to a statement by the Ontario Securities Commission in September 2020.

Cartu's arrest came less than a month after Russia and Western countries, led by the United States, exchanged the largest detainees since the Cold War, exchanging 16 people detained in Russia and Belarus for eight Russians imprisoned in Western countries.