A so-called Colombian Basketball Team participated in the Friendship Cup in Russia, where they faced the local team, Venezuela and a team from Perm. However, suspicions quickly arose after the heavy defeat suffered by the Colombian team.
The tournament, held from August 21 to 25, aims to reactivate Russia’s participation in basketball after the sanctions for the invasion of Ukraine. Through an email sent by the Colombian Basketball Federation (FCB), Colombia was invited to participate. However, the said email was intercepted, and instead, a false selection showed the activity.
Doubts rose after the supposed Colombian team fell badly 155-53 against local team BC Parma, and later 107-58 against Venezuela. After these results, the organizers decided to verify the identity of the players, thus revealing the deception.
The deception of the fake Colombian National Team
The Colombian Basketball Federation released a statement clarifying that the team in Russia has no relationship with the federation and they never received an official invitation to the tournament. The truth came to light when it was discovered that Christian David Mosquera Durán, a Colombian player living in Russia, hacked the FCB email to register his group of friends in the Friendship Cup, pretending to be the president of the federation.
Mosquera Durán, a 25-year-old student who plays in a third division 3×3 basketball team in Kazan, masterminded the entire fraud, managing to obtain plane tickets and accommodation in four-star hotels for in his team.
Repercussions
The president of the Russian Basketball Federation, former NBA player Andrei Kirilenko, defended himself by explaining that all negotiations were conducted through official channels. However, he acknowledged that the identity of the Colombian players was not sufficiently proven.
The FCB has announced that it will take legal action against those responsible for improperly using the official image and symbols of the federation during the tournament without permission.