Spies Behind Bars - Spying for Russia: Australian couple arrested
Two Australian citizens of Russian descent have been arrested in Australia on espionage charges. The 40 and 62-year-old couple are accused of obtaining material from the Australian military to give to Russian authorities, the Australian Federal Police announced. The wife in question is a soldier in the Australian military.
The suspects were taken from their house in a suburb of Brisbane on a Thursday. The Australian authorities accuse them of preparing a espionage offense, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Exposing the suspects was a complex operation by a special police and intelligence agency (ASIO) taskforce, according to Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw.
Soldier travelled secretly to Russia
The woman is alleged to have travelled secretly to Russia during a leave period and instructed her husband to access her work emails and send certain information to her personal email account. The login details of the account were used multiple times to access confidential information, "with the intention of providing these to the Russian authorities," it was stated. It is still being investigated whether the information reached its destination.
"Espionage is a clandestine crime," Kershaw said. In a time of global instability, there are increased attempts to obtain information from western democracies, including Australia. ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess stressed that several countries were trying to steal Australia's secrets. "Espionage damages our economy and erodes our strategic advantage. It can have catastrophic consequences in the real world."
The arrested individuals are both Russian citizens by descent, living in Australia. The espionage accusation against the married couple has been a topic of concern in Brisbane's political circles. The Russian authorities are believed to be the intended recipients of the stolen military information. The woman's alleged activities in Russia during her leave period are being closely examined as part of the investigation.
