“He’s not a computer guy,” Bélot said. “He didn’t notice any strange behavior on the computer because he doesn’t know how computers work.”
A French court denied Kasatkin bail on Wednesday, and he remains in jail awaiting formal extradition notification from U.S. authorities, according to Bélot.
Kasatkin had traveled to France to visit Paris with his fiancée and was detained shortly after arriving at the airport.
He played collegiate basketball briefly at Penn State, then four seasons for the Moscow-based MBA-MAI team. Bélot said Kasatkin’s physical condition has deteriorated in jail, which he argued is harming his athletic career.
Joshua Berlinger contributed to this report.