Russia detains Israeli-Canadian citizen wanted in US for fraud
Joshua Cartu wanted for allegedly operating fraudulent binary options trading scam; Moscow says he’ll be charged locally, could face 10 years, extradition not possible
MOSCOW — 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 said on Wednesday evening.
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 August 19 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 wasn’t immediately clear when Cartu arrived in Russia.
On Wednesday, the court extended his detention by 72 hours. Reuters was not able to determine if Cartu had a lawyer.
The Canadian and Israeli embassies did not immediately respond to requests for 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 immediately respond to a request for comment.
Cartu and his two brothers were separately accused of fraud in Canada relating to a fradulent binary options scheme targeting Ontarians, according to a September 2020 statement from the Ontario Securities Commission.
The commission brought a civil enforcement action against the Cartus claiming that from July 2013 to April 2017 the brothers operated online trading platforms that illegally sold binary options to Ontario investors and lied to investors about their Israeli location and their real names, as well as misleading investors by using nominee directors to obscure their connection to companies they owned.
The three brothers, who immigrated to Israel from Ontario, mingled with Israeli elites, living flashy lifestyles in swanky homes, dating models and racing sports cars.
Joshua 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.
