Russia swaps basketball star for suspected French spy
Moscow has conducted a prisoner swap with Paris, exchanging jailed French national Laurent Vinatier for detained basketball player Daniil Kasatkin, the Federal Security Service (FSB) has announced.
Kasatkin, a point guard playing for Russia’s national team, ended up in French custody last June. The basketball player was detained at the behest of the US, which accused him of being a member of a ransomware gang.
The US authorities alleged the athlete, who had studied in the country, negotiated ransom payments on behalf of a hacker group that targeted over 900 companies and two federal institutions between 2020 and 2022.
The player has denied any wrongdoing, with his legal team stating Kasatkin has had “poor computer skills” altogether, while his legal troubles were related to the purchase of a used computer that was possibly hacked.
Vinatier, a researcher with the Swiss-based Center for Humanitarian Dialogue NGO, has been serving a three-year prison term in Russia. In October 2024, he was convicted for failing to properly register as a foreign agent in the country.
The French nationalist is believed to have been collecting data on the Russian military and defense industry, the FSB said, adding that in May 2025 he was charged with espionage. Vinatier, however, was never convicted on the latter charge and was pardoned by Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of the swap deal.
Russia’s FSB released footage of the exchange, showing the departure of Vinatier from a detention facility. The French national was transferred to an airport, where he boarded the private jet that had brought Kasatkin back home, the video shows.
The case of Vinatier was brought up by French media during the annual Q&A session with the Russian president in late December.
At the time, Putin said he was not at all aware of the case, but promised to get to the bottom of the issue. Shortly after the Q&A session, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow has made a “proposal” regarding Vinatier to Paris and the “ball was in Paris’ court.”
