Who is Jugal Daterao? Manager of Indian origin Walt Disney sentenced in Russia to 2.5 years in prison for smuggling

A Moscow judge has sentenced a Walt Disney Company executive to two and a half years in prison for drug smuggling after discovering THC-infused gum in his luggage.

Russian state media TASS said on Friday that Jugal Daterao Sudhir arrived in Russia from Qatar in early January this year and was detained at Sheremetyevo International Airport after the tires were discovered during a routine baggage check.

The press service said: “The court found Sudhir guilty under Article 228 of the Russian Criminal Code (illegal acquisition, possession or transportation of narcotics) and Article 229.1 of the Russian Criminal Code (illegal transportation of narcotics) and sentenced him to two years and six months in a penal colony with a general regime with a fine of 30 rubles.”

According to Sudhir, he was prescribed the drug by a doctor in the United States to manage the effects of brain surgery.

Who is Jugal Daterao?

According to his LinkedIn profile, Datrao is an experienced program manager at Disney, where he manages more than 20 complex projects on global initiatives such as ad content supply chains, cloud computing, AI/ML and partner integration for Disney+, Hulu and other advanced platforms.

Daterao has more than 15 years of progressive expertise in leading and solving problems for software development projects across various domains and industries.

His bio reads: “As a Scrum Master Certified and Agile Project Management Expert, I have successfully migrated software methodology from waterfall to Agile Scrum, trained and built new teams, defined and implemented project management processes, and ensured operational execution, release planning and risk mitigation. I have also worked on content distribution applications, DTC and SVOD services for Viacom brands, and launched award-winning Walgreen’s mobile applications and other high quality mobile applications. products and services that meet the needs and expectations of clients and users and while staying current with relevant technologies and innovations, maintaining strong ethics and influencing others with good communication and negotiation skills.”

Daterao completed his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Pune, followed by an MBA from the University of Adelaide. He then earned an MCM degree in Computer Science from the Institute of Management and Career Courses.

Before Disney, Daterao worked at several companies. According to his profile, he worked as a project coordinator/programmer at Software Solutions from 2002 to 2005. He then worked as a Project Research Analyst at SADB Adelaide.

From 2007 to 2009, he worked as a Release Coordinator at KickApps Corporation, then worked as a Project Release Manager at Doctations, Inc. for a year.

From 2010 to 2013, he worked as a project manager at Usablenet in New York before becoming a project manager at High 5 Games. Daterao also worked as a Senior Project Manager at WWE for over two years before moving to Viacom and working in various capacities for three years.

In 2015, he also founded an organization called Reliable Investment Corporation. He has been working at The Walt Disney Company since 2019.

Russian media identified Sudhir as an Indian citizen; however, it was not immediately clear whether he also holds an American passport.