A Russian court today ordered the release of Israeli-Canadian citizen Joshua Kartu, arrested on early this week at the request of the United States for alleged financial crimes, reported France Press, quoted by BTA.
Cartu, a racing driver and entrepreneur, is accused along with his brothers of defrauding investors out of millions of dollars. On Monday, he was arrested by the Russian branch of Interpol at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport after receiving a wanted notice from the United States.
The Moscow District Court in St. Petersburg decided to drop the proceedings against Kartu, saying Russia had not received a formal extradition request from the US.
Russia does not have an extradition agreement with the US, but last month the two countries carried out a major prisoner exchange involving opposition figures and journalists on the one hand, and suspected spies on the other, AFP recalls.
The press service of the courts in St. Petersburg specified that Kartu is the subject of a "red ballot" by Interpol over allegations that between 2013 and 2017 he and a group of people defrauded US investors of about $60 million.
In 2021, the US government indicted Cartu and others, including his two brothers, David and Jonathan, on charges of conspiracy to commit fraud.
Joshua Cartu's "Instagram" accounts and "Facebook" have hundreds of thousands of followers. In them, he demonstrates an extravagant lifestyle and his sports cars.
In interviews with British media, he describes himself as a technology and racing car entrepreneur who owns his own fleet of ``Ferrari'' cars.
The Canadian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that it was “informed of the arrest of a Canadian in Russia” and has offered consular assistance.