Accused hacker forgoes extradition hearing
Hamilton man may face additional charges upon his arrival in the United States
HAMILTON— Accused Yahoo hacker Karim Baratov is waiving his Canadian rights, forgoing extradition, to go straight to the United States to face prosecution.
During a brief court appearance in Hamilton Friday morning, the 22year-old Ancaster, Ont., man agreed to the waiver, which Superior Court Justice Andrew Goodman cautioned meant he’s also waiving any protections.
Baratov agreed, signing three copies of the waiver in front of the judge, before being led away.
“Good luck, Mr. Baratov,” Goodman said.
“Thank you,” Baratov replied, ending what is his last court appearance in Canada.
His lawyer, Amedeo DiCarlo, said outside court that waiving extradition is “the quickest route to the U.S. so we can continue our discussions there.”
He couldn’t detail what is happening with negotiations in the U.S., which have been ongoing since March, but described them as “fruitful.”
“I’m pretty confident the consent route was the wrong way to go and the waiver was the right way to go,” he said.
Had Baratov, a Canadian citizen born in Kazakhstan, consented to extradition, that process would have taken longer, but would have limited the U.S. to the initial indictment.
By waiving his rights, he will head straight to the U.S., but is open to the risk of facing additional charges.
A court order in the States is already in place and a U.S. marshal will be here as soon as possible to transport Baratov to the State of California (likely San Francisco), DiCarlo said.
Baratov is “excited” for the change of scenery and to see progression on the case, he said.
DiCarlo said he was forbidden from revealing any details of U.S. negotiations, but did say they’ve “narrowed down timelines.”
There have been “suggestions (it) could take months and years, but that’s not going to happen,” he said, adding that everyone is working to resolve the matter quickly.
Baratov was arrested at his Ancas- ter home March 14 after U.S. authorities charged him with aggravated identity theft and conspiring to commit fraud, in connection with a hacking scheme allegedly organized by Russian intelligence agents.
He was denied bail in Canada because he is considered a flight risk. Unable to get Baratov out of jail, DiCarlo turned his focus to the U.S. negotiations.
DiCarlo maintains Baratov is “a small fish” in the whole scheme, said to have breached about 500 million Yahoo email accounts that were subsequently used for political or financial gain.
By waiving extradition, Baratov is not admitting any guilt, he said.