INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
A Russian court on Saturday freed Israeli-Canadian citizen Joshua Cartu who was arrested earlier this week at the request of the United
States over alleged financial crimes.Dubbed "Ferrari fugitive," the racing car driver and entrepreneur has been accused along with his
brothers of defrauding investors of millions of dollars.He was detained on Monday by Russia's Interpol unit at St
Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport after being declared "wanted" by the United States St
Petersburg's Moskovsky District court ruled to "terminate proceedings" against Cartu, saying Russian authorities had not received an
official extradition request.Russia does not have an extradition treaty with the United States, but the countries last month exchanged
prisoners in a major swap.A court earlier this week kept him in detention because, as an Israeli citizen, he could freely travel out of
Petersburg court press service said Cartu was under an Interpol Red Notice due to accusations he was part of a group that defrauded
investors in the United States of around $60 million between 2013 and 2017.The United States government in 2021 filed a fraud complaint
against Cartu and others including his brothers, David and Jonathan, over conspiracy to commit wire fraud.Cartu's social media accounts on
Instagram and Facebook are followed by hundreds of thousands
They feature glossy images of a luxury lifestyle with race cars.In interviews with British media he has described himself as a race car and
tech entrepreneur with his own fleet of Ferraris.Canada's foreign ministry said on Tuesday that it was "aware of an arrest involving a
Canadian in Russia" and had offered consular assistance.
