American Gene Spector is serving a 3.5-year prison sentence in Russia for corruption. A Moscow court charged him with espionage on Thursday.
“The court granted the inquiry’s request to detain Spector, a US citizen, under Article 276 of Russia’s Penal Code (“espionage”), a court official told TASS. Spector is currently serving a 3-year prison sentence .5 years for brokering bribes to former Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich, Anastasia Alekseeva, an aide.
Spector was born and raised in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), but later moved to the United States, where he received American citizenship. He was the chairman of the board of directors of the Medpolymerprom Group, specializing in oncology drugs. He acted as an intermediary in giving bribes to Alexeyeva. According to investigators, in 2015-2016, Alexeyeva received financial benefits in the amount of more than 4 million rubles ($96.3 thousand) in the form of vacation trips to Thailand and the Dominican Republic for her actions on behalf of the briber.
America is seeking the return of its citizens imprisoned in Russia
The new charges against the American coincide with efforts by the United States to exchange American prisoners serving their sentences outside the United States. Washington had talks with Moscow about this. These include returning Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and Navy veteran Paul Whelan. The Kremlin confirmed talks were underway, noting that the exchange of prisoners could not be discussed until after their conviction. Both men were arrested on espionage charges.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Washington has repeatedly called on US citizens in Russia to leave the country for security reasons. In December last year, basketball player Brittney Griner returned to the US, having been convicted in Russia of possessing cannabis oil vaporizer cartridges.
Source: Do Rzeczy
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
