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Israeli-Canadian racer wanted by US for fraud arrested in Russia

By Reuters 22 August 2024, 1:37 pm Edit

MOSCOW, Russia — Police in St. Petersburg have detained an Israeli-Canadian racing car driver wanted by the United States for alleged large-scale fraud relating to an illegal online stock trading scheme, the city’s court system says.

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 says Cartu had been detained on August 19 at Pulkovo airport. It identifies him as a citizen of Israel and Canada and says he is “wanted by the United States of America.” It isn’t immediately clear when Cartu arrived in Russia.

The court extends his detention by 72 hours. Reuters is not able to determine if Cartu had a lawyer.

The Canadian and Israeli embassies did not immediately respond to comment requests.

The court says 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 says.

Moscow and Washington do not have an extradition treaty.

The US embassy did not immediately respond to a comment request.

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