Russia arrests US citizen suspected of spying

A court in Moscow announced the arrest of Russian-American citizen Gene Spector on espionage charges.

The Lefortovsky District Court in Moscow has decided to detain US citizen Gene Spector on espionage charges, TASS quoted a court official as saying on August 17. Spector was born and raised in St. Petersburg and moved to the United States. He later returned to Russia to become a businessman.

Interfax reported that Spector had reached a deal with Russian investigators and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Russian officials have not released specific information about Spector.

White House spokesman John Kirby said the US government was gathering information about Spector's case and had no further comment. The US State Department said it was monitoring the situation.

"We are aware of allegations against a US citizen in Russia," a State Department spokesperson said. "In the event that a US citizen is detained abroad, the department will work to provide all appropriate assistance."

Spector was sentenced to three and a half years in prison in September 2022 for his role in the bribery of Anastasia Alekseeva, an assistant to former Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich, in 2015-2016. Alekseeva is said to have received bribes worth more than 4 million rubles ($96,300) in the form of vacation trips to Thailand and the Dominican Republic.

Moscow City Court in Moscow, Russia September 2014. Photo: Reuters

The US government is trying to get Russia to release two of its citizens, WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich and former Marine Paul Whelan.

Russian authorities arrested Gershkovich on March 30 in the city of Yekaterinburg, about 1,800 km east of Moscow, on charges of "espionage for the US government." On May 23, a Russian court announced that Gershkovich's detention had been extended until August 30 pending trial.

The WSJ and Gershkovich have both denied the allegations. US President Joe Biden has called on Russia to release Gershkovich, while the White House has called the charges against the reporter "ridiculous".

Whelan was arrested by Russian security forces at a hotel near the Kremlin on December 28, 2018. Moscow claims that Whelan, who holds US, British, Canadian and Irish passports, is a spy and was caught red-handed with a USB stick containing classified information. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison by a Russian court in 2020.

Nhu Tam (According to Reuters, AFP )

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