A Paris courtroom has denied bail to businessman Thomas Herdman, who faces expenses over distributing encrypted telephones that have been utilized by criminals, stating that he’s a flight danger and that justice must be carried out.
The Canadian is charged with 22 offences, together with laundering income from drug trafficking by organised crime via the distribution of Sky ECC encrypted telephones. He denies all expenses.
Belgian and Dutch police broke the encryption of Sky ECC, the world’s largest cryptophone community, and harvested hundreds of thousands of messages between June 2019 and March 2021, leading to mass arrests of suspected drug gangs in France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
French prosecutors have indicted greater than 30 people who owned or labored for 4 firms that distributed Sky ECC telephones and particular person resellers. Sky International’s founder and CEO, Jean-Francois Eap, who continues to dwell and run companies in Canada, is amongst these named on the French indictment.
Herdman is known to be the one particular person charged in French custody.
At a listening to in a Paris courtroom on 27 February, Herdman’s lawyer, Paul Sin-Chan informed, the courtroom his consumer had been cooperating with American authorities, together with the Division of Justice (DoJ), the FBI and the US Marshals Service, earlier than he was unexpectedly arrested by French police.
Herdman had persistently demonstrated his willingness to work with regulation enforcement and shouldn’t be thought-about a flight danger, the courtroom heard.
Philippe Ohayon, additionally representing Herdman, mentioned French police have been fallacious to extradite his consumer to France whereas he was working with US regulation enforcement investigating Sky International in Spain.
The courtroom heard that the FBI ran a sting operation to entice Herdman. A Division of Justice report disclosed to the courtroom claims that Herdman allegedly offered three Sky telephones to undercover officers posing as drug traffickers.
The prosecutor acknowledged each Herdman’s cooperation and the truth that he had in a roundabout way communicated with anybody she mentioned was “mafia”.
5 judges will hear a case towards 30 folks accused of being concerned within the distribution of encrypted cellphones utilized by organised criminals at a particular felony courtroom anticipated to happen in spring 2026 in Paris.
The French attraction courtroom judges rejected a petition by Herdman in December 2024 to expedite his case by listening to it in a decrease courtroom, after his legal professionals argued that there was no proof that Herman had any direct hyperlinks to criminality.
‘Let me struggle this from the surface’
The defence group mentioned their consumer was remoted and had misplaced hope after years of incarceration with out trial.
When Herdman addressed the courtroom, his voice broke with emotion. He has been detained for practically 4 years with out trial.
His daughter, Julie, who was within the courtroom for the listening to, cried as he spoke of lacking 4 of her birthdays.
Herdman requested the courtroom to permit him to struggle his case from exterior jail. He assured the judges that he had a job and a spot to dwell in France, which demonstrated his ties to the nation.
“I’m the breadwinner for my household, and this case is weighing closely on them,” he mentioned. He informed the courtroom that his mom suffered a stroke in December and now requires 24-hour care, additional straining the household’s funds.
He rejected allegations that he was concerned in illicit actions and informed the courtroom he didn’t personal Sky International and was not an worker of the corporate.
Herdman was employed by LevUp Applied sciences Inc in 2017 after it received a contract to distribute Sky ECC telephones. He described LevUp as a “failed enterprise” that had by no means profited from felony exercise.
“In keeping with my calculations, it solely had 1% of Sky International’s prospects,” he mentioned.
His solely recognized hyperlink to France, Herdman argued, was a pc server utilized by Sky International, which equipped Sky ECC software program to resellers, in a French datacentre that he had not even been conscious of.
He mentioned France was bending its personal pre-trial detention guidelines by holding him for therefore lengthy with out trial. “I used to be extradited from Spain and got here right here willingly,” Herdman mentioned. “I’m not a flight danger.”
Bail denied
After a brief deliberation, the judges dominated towards granting Herdman bail.
As officers ready to take him again into custody, Herdman and his daughter exchanged phrases – “I really like you” – earlier than he was led away in handcuffs.
Talking exterior the courtroom, Julie mentioned she was baring up given the circumstances. “I didn’t know what to anticipate,’ she mentioned, “however my dad and his legal professionals did suppose the bail can be denied, in order that they have been ready for it.”
He has 10 days to attraction the choice.
