Russia has charged an imprisoned Russian-born U.S. citizen with espionage, upping the pressure on U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration, which has been working to bring several detained citizens back home from Russia.
Russia’s RIA and TASS state-owned news agencies reported that Moscow’s Lefortovo court had remanded businessman Gene Spector in pre-trial custody on suspicion of espionage.
“The court granted the request of the investigation to detain a U.S. citizen Spector on charges under Article 276 (espionage) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation,” TASS quoted an unidentified source at the court as saying.
Espionage is punishable with a jail term of 10 to 20 years in Russia.
The news agencies did not report any details of the case, adding that the court session was held behind closed doors as the case involves classified material.
Mr. Spector is already serving a 3.5-year sentence after pleading guilty in 2020 for his role in the bribing of Anastasia Alekseyeva, a former aide to former Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich, the news agencies said.
Mr. Spector was born in the Soviet era in St. Petersburg—at the time called Leningrad. He later moved to the United States where he obtained citizenship. Before his 2021 arrest, Mr. Spector served as chairman of the board of Medpolymerprom Group, a company specializing in cancer-curing drugs, according to TASS.
Speaking on CNN, White House spokesperson John Kirby said the administration was still collecting information about the case.
With U.S.-Russia relations severely strained over the war in Ukraine, the Biden administration has nevertheless continued negotiating with Russia to bring back several U.S. citizens detained in Moscow, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan.
Mr. Gershkovich was arrested in March over espionage charges, which he and the Wall Street Journal deny. Mr. Whelan was convicted to 16 years for espionage in 2020. According to the U.S. State Department, both men are being wrongfully detained.
The Kremlin has confirmed that it has conducted talks with Washington but has repeatedly stated that prisoner swaps can only be considered after the conclusion of ongoing trials. Russia also warned that should the United States publicly discuss the negotiations, it will undermine their efforts.
Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, confirmed on Wednesday that Moscow and Washington operate an effective channel to swap prisoners.
In April, Russia released former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed in exchange for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot serving 20 years for drug smuggling. Mr. Reed was convicted in 2019 to a nine-year prison sentence after assaulting two officers in Moscow.
Last December, U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner was released in a prisoner swap, having been sentenced to nine years for possessing vape cartridges containing cannabis oil—which is banned in Russia—after a judicial process labeled a sham by Washington.
Since the war in Ukraine began in February 2022, the United States has repeatedly urged its citizens to leave Russia due to the risk of arbitrary arrest or harassment by Russian law enforcement agencies.
Reuters contributed to this report.
