Sports · €200 transfer · Archive16 Years for €200: Russia Jails Dual Citizen for Transfer to ExAired August 9, 2026 at 11:34 AM UTCWritten September 7, 2026 at 9:22 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:00In June 2026, a Russian court sentenced0:02Miklós Chinan to 16 years for treason0:05[music] after classifying a 200 euro0:07transfer to his Ukrainian ex-girlfriend0:09years earlier as assistance to a foreign0:10state acting against the Russian armed0:12forces. The sentence turns a small0:14private remittance between former0:16partners into [music] a decades-long0:17prison term, extending the treason0:19standard from battlefield support to a0:21personal transfer. Miklós Chinan holds0:23both Russian and Belgian citizenship. He0:26[music] traveled to Russia in the summer0:27of 2025 to visit his sick father and was0:30arrested at the border. The arrest0:32during a family visit in the summer of0:342025 led nearly a year later to the June0:372026 ruling that reclassified the0:39years-old 200 euro transfer and imposed0:41the 16-year term. Prosecutors pointed to0:44the 200 euro sent years ago. The court0:47then defined that private payment0:48[music] as aid to a foreign state acting0:50against the Russian armed forces and0:52that definition carried the 16-year0:54penalty. A trip intended to see an ill0:56father became the trigger for detention0:58with the old remittance then becoming1:00the center of the treason case. The1:02publicly available account relies on1:03court and family [music] accounts1:04without broader independent confirmation1:06so far. Family members describe the1:08charges as absurd [music] and it is not1:10yet known whether an appeal or Belgian1:12consular intervention can challenge the1:13reclassification [music]1:14and the sentence. If the interpretation1:16stands, a years-old private transfer1:18between former partners could stand as1:20precedent for treating [music] personal1:22remittances as treason, leaving the dual1:24citizen facing 16 years after returning1:27for his ill father.Explore with HeyDexThe shortThe short ↗