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US court postpones sentencing of Russian citizen Seleznev until April 21

In August 2016, the jury found Seleznev guilty to 38 of 40 cybercrime charges against him

NEW YORK, February 3. /TASS/. A US court postponed until April 21 the sentencing of Russian citizen Roman Seleznev, who was earlier found guilty of cybercrimes, a court spokesperson told TASS.

According to documents, obtained from the court’s archives, Seleznev’s defense earlier requested to postpone the sentencing until June 2017.

The defense said it needed more time to gather additional information in order to present them to the jury before Seleznev is sentenced.

The sentencing is scheduled to begin at 9:00 local time in the US District Court for the Western District of Washington courthouse in Seattle.

Roman Seleznev was detained at the international airport of the Maldives’ capital Male on July 5, 2014 and taken to a jail on the island of Guam on cyber fraud charges. The district court of Guam refuses to release Seleznev and decided to relocate him to Seattle in the state of Washington, where the charges against him were initially filed.

American investigators suspected Seleznev of having intended to steal, and then sell, information about the credit cards of US citizens between October 2009 and February 2011. According to the US investigators, he was involved of theft of some 200,000 credit card numbers of American people. The prosecutors brought 40 charges against Seleznev and he faces 25 years in jail.

Moscow claims that Seleznev was not arrested but "kidnapped" by the U.S. authorities and the case against him is politically motivated.

In August 2016, the jury found Seleznev guilty to 38 of 40 cybercrime charges against him. Seleznev pleaded not guilty and refused to testify. He was suspected of breaking into databases of some 200 US companies.