Russian-born couple charged with spying offense in Australia

Brisbane, Australia (CNN) — Australia has charged two Russian-born Australian citizens with preparing for an espionage offense after allegedly obtaining military information that they planned to hand to Russian authorities.

The married couple had been in Australia for more than 10 years and were arrested Thursday at their home in Everton Park, a northern suburb of Brisbane, according to the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO).

The Russian-born woman, 40, was an army private working as an information systems technician with the Australian Defence Force (ADF) for several years, the agencies said in a joint news conference on Friday.

She became an Australian citizen in 2016, and her Russian-born husband, 62, a self-employed laborer, obtained Australian citizenship in 2020, they added.

“The AFP will allege the individuals worked together to access Australian Defence Force material that related to Australia’s national security interests,” said AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw.

“No significant compromise,” had been identified and no other individuals appeared to be involved, Kershaw added, though he said the investigation was in its early stages.

The couple appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday and were remanded in custody to next appear in court on September 20.

Australian Federal Police will allege the woman went to Russia without notifying Australian authorities while she was on long-term leave from the ADF last year.

“We allege that while she was in Russia, she instructed her husband, who remained in Australia, on how to log into her official work account from their Brisbane home,” Kershaw said.

“We allege her husband would access requested material and would send [it] to his wife in Russia. We allege they sought that information with the intention of providing it to Russian authorities.”

Kershaw said a key focus of the investigation is whether that information was handed over to Russian authorities. If it was, the charge could be upgraded to espionage.

The investigation will include how the woman obtained security clearance to access sensitive ADF material, and how she was able to bypass systems to apparently travel undetected to Russia.

“There was some misleading on her behalf of where she was allegedly at and what country,” Kershaw said.

It’s the first time an espionage offense has been used since new laws were introduced in 2018.

The charge of preparing for an espionage offense carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. An upgraded charge carries a maximum term of 25 years in prison to life.

ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess said the arrests demonstrated the strength of Australia’s national security culture, not its deficiency.

“The espionage threat is real. Multiple countries are seeking to steal Australia’s secrets. We cannot be naive and we cannot be complacent,” he said.

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