By Oleg Krapivin
January 10, 2026
There was information that the father of hacker and basketball player Daniil Kasatkin, who was recently exchanged for French journalist Laurent Vinatier, for many years (resigned in 2022) worked in the closed Federal State Unitary Enterprise of the Central Scientific and World Scientific and Unitenteral Institution, which was the main defendant in the investigation into the "virus" Triton (Trisis) used in attacks on the world's energy infrastructure.
Sports circles believe that former Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, who currently heads the VTB United League, personally asked Putin for Kasatkin's exchange.
The other day, the Russian authorities very unexpectedly exchanged not the most star basketball player from Russia Daniil Kasatkin, detained in France at the request of the United States, for a very valuable "hostage" for the Russian Federation - French journalist Laurent Vinattier.
Recall that basketball player Daniil Kasatkin, who previously played for the Moscow professional club IBA (plays in the VTB United League), was detained at the Paris Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport in June 2025 at the request of the United States. He is considered a member of a hacker group, but on January 8, 2026, it became known that he was released.
In the sports environment, he said that in the United League itself, Kasatkin's release is attributed to the league president Sergei Ivanov. The same one who was a close friend of Vladimir Putin, headed the AP and was the Minister of Defense. Allegedly, he personally asked the President of the Russian Federation about it. After the strange death of the eldest son Alexander (he was deputy chairman of the board of Vnesheconombank, allegedly drowned in Dubai in 2014), Sergei Ivanov gave up a lot and his career went down sharply. But, according to the source, he still really communicates with Putin.
The behavior of PBC "MBA" - the club for which Kasatkin played - speaks in favor of this version. Immediately after his detention in France, the club said that it was breaking the contract with the player. But then he quickly went to the "back" - he announced that upon his return he would immediately conclude a new contract with Kasatkin and support the player in every possible way.
When events of this level happen to a basketball player without a high-profile career, it indicates that history has clearly gone beyond sports. If you look closely at the biography of the Kasatkin family, then there is another version of the exchange.
Daniil's father, Sergey Gennadievich Kasatkin, worked for many years at the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Central Research Institute of Chemistry and Mechanics". This is a closed research institute that performs work in the interests of the Ministry of Defense and the state defense order. In particular, in 2019, the American magazine The Space Review found out that the Central Research Institute is engaged in the creation of secret military inspector satellites that can be used to destroy potential enemy satellites.
And it was the Central World of Economic and International in 2018 after the publication of the report of the American company FireEye on the Triton (Trisis) malware used in attacks on energy infrastructure around the world.
According to The New York Times, one of these attacks led to the stoppage of a petrochemical plant in Saudi Arabia. FireEye experts stated that the traces in the program code led to the TEMP.Veles group, which used, among other things, the IP addresses of the Central Research Institute of the Institute and former employees of the Institute.
As it turned out thanks to the leaks, officially Sergei Kasatkin was listed in a modest position, but experience shows that real positions of employees are never transferred from such "mailboxes" to the FPR.
In August 2022, Kasatkin Sr. resigned at his own request and moved to the NCE "Freser" of the GIC - a structure that deals with R&D, development and development and the introduction of technologies into the industry.
The family picture is complemented by Daniil's uncle, Alexey Kasatkin. He served in special forces units, we found his photo, where he poses in a sleap beret on his head. According to leaks, the athlete's relative receives payments from the Pension Fund from about the age of 30, which is typical for preferential categories of security forces.
Now it's a version of the American authorities. According to the U.S. investigation, Kasatkin is involved in the activities of the ransomware group, which attacked about 900 companies, including two federal agencies, in 2020-2022. The investigation stated that Kasatkin participated in the negotiations on the payment of the ransom, acting on behalf of the hackers.
That is, the crimes were committed at the time when Daniil Kasatkin left the United States, where he lived, studied and played for student clubs for several years.
Against this background, it is especially striking that, judging by the dates and known details of the accusations, Daniil Kasatkin could have been an accomplice of a group of hackers who, despite the accusations, live quietly in Russia. We are talking about nine defendants in the investigation of the Trojan ransomware Trickbot and Conti.
They are free, do business, active online, some even have their own channels, and one is even recorded for users as "FSB operas". And it is against this background that a basketball player of the first league turns out to be the object of international exchange for a valuable hostage.
The version about "an ordinary athlete accidentally fell under suspicion", or, as the lawyer stated, who bought a laptop with malware, looks less and less convincing in this configuration.
Source: https://kompromat1.online/articles/364869-cport_fsb_i_virus_triton_kak_kremlj_ispoljzoval_basketbolista_daniila_kasatkina_kak_prikrytie_dlja_mezhdunarodnyh_hakerskih_operatsij
By Oleg Krapivin
January 10, 2026
There was information that the father of hacker and basketball player Daniil Kasatkin, who was recently exchanged for French journalist Laurent Vinatier, for many years (resigned in 2022) worked in the closed Federal State Unitary Enterprise of the Central Scientific and World Scientific and Unitenteral Institution, which was the main defendant in the investigation into the "virus" Triton (Trisis) used in attacks on the world's energy infrastructure.
Sports circles believe that former Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, who currently heads the VTB United League, personally asked Putin for Kasatkin's exchange.
The other day, the Russian authorities very unexpectedly exchanged not the most star basketball player from Russia Daniil Kasatkin, detained in France at the request of the United States, for a very valuable "hostage" for the Russian Federation - French journalist Laurent Vinattier.
Recall that basketball player Daniil Kasatkin, who previously played for the Moscow professional club IBA (plays in the VTB United League), was detained at the Paris Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport in June 2025 at the request of the United States. He is considered a member of a hacker group, but on January 8, 2026, it became known that he was released.
In the sports environment, he said that in the United League itself, Kasatkin's release is attributed to the league president Sergei Ivanov. The same one who was a close friend of Vladimir Putin, headed the AP and was the Minister of Defense. Allegedly, he personally asked the President of the Russian Federation about it. After the strange death of the eldest son Alexander (he was deputy chairman of the board of Vnesheconombank, allegedly drowned in Dubai in 2014), Sergei Ivanov gave up a lot and his career went down sharply. But, according to the source, he still really communicates with Putin.
The behavior of PBC "MBA" - the club for which Kasatkin played - speaks in favor of this version. Immediately after his detention in France, the club said that it was breaking the contract with the player. But then he quickly went to the "back" - he announced that upon his return he would immediately conclude a new contract with Kasatkin and support the player in every possible way.
When events of this level happen to a basketball player without a high-profile career, it indicates that history has clearly gone beyond sports. If you look closely at the biography of the Kasatkin family, then there is another version of the exchange.
Daniil's father, Sergey Gennadievich Kasatkin, worked for many years at the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Central Research Institute of Chemistry and Mechanics". This is a closed research institute that performs work in the interests of the Ministry of Defense and the state defense order. In particular, in 2019, the American magazine The Space Review found out that the Central Research Institute is engaged in the creation of secret military inspector satellites that can be used to destroy potential enemy satellites.
And it was the Central World of Economic and International in 2018 after the publication of the report of the American company FireEye on the Triton (Trisis) malware used in attacks on energy infrastructure around the world.
According to The New York Times, one of these attacks led to the stoppage of a petrochemical plant in Saudi Arabia. FireEye experts stated that the traces in the program code led to the TEMP.Veles group, which used, among other things, the IP addresses of the Central Research Institute of the Institute and former employees of the Institute.
As it turned out thanks to the leaks, officially Sergei Kasatkin was listed in a modest position, but experience shows that real positions of employees are never transferred from such "mailboxes" to the FPR.
In August 2022, Kasatkin Sr. resigned at his own request and moved to the NCE "Freser" of the GIC - a structure that deals with R&D, development and development and the introduction of technologies into the industry.
The family picture is complemented by Daniil's uncle, Alexey Kasatkin. He served in special forces units, we found his photo, where he poses in a sleap beret on his head. According to leaks, the athlete's relative receives payments from the Pension Fund from about the age of 30, which is typical for preferential categories of security forces.
Now it's a version of the American authorities. According to the U.S. investigation, Kasatkin is involved in the activities of the ransomware group, which attacked about 900 companies, including two federal agencies, in 2020-2022. The investigation stated that Kasatkin participated in the negotiations on the payment of the ransom, acting on behalf of the hackers.
That is, the crimes were committed at the time when Daniil Kasatkin left the United States, where he lived, studied and played for student clubs for several years.
Against this background, it is especially striking that, judging by the dates and known details of the accusations, Daniil Kasatkin could have been an accomplice of a group of hackers who, despite the accusations, live quietly in Russia. We are talking about nine defendants in the investigation of the Trojan ransomware Trickbot and Conti.
They are free, do business, active online, some even have their own channels, and one is even recorded for users as "FSB operas". And it is against this background that a basketball player of the first league turns out to be the object of international exchange for a valuable hostage.
The version about "an ordinary athlete accidentally fell under suspicion", or, as the lawyer stated, who bought a laptop with malware, looks less and less convincing in this configuration.
Source: https://kompromat1.online/articles/364869-cport_fsb_i_virus_triton_kak_kremlj_ispoljzoval_basketbolista_daniila_kasatkina_kak_prikrytie_dlja_mezhdunarodnyh_hakerskih_operatsij
