Russian-born couple charged with spying offense in Australia

Australia has charged two Russian-born Australian citizens with preparing for an espionage offense after allegedly obtaining information from the Australian Defence Force (ADF) that they were intending to hand to Russian authorities.

The citizens, a 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, became an Australian citizen in 2016, and was an army private working as an information systems technician with the ADF for several years, the agencies said in a joint news conference. Her Russian-born husband, 62, obtained Australian citizenship in 2020, they added.

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

The couple were not named by authorities in Friday’s announcement, but both are expected to appear in court later that day.

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

“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 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 authorities. If it was, the charge could be upgraded to espionage.

It’s the first time the charge of preparing for an espionage offence has been used. It carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. An upgraded charge carries a maximum term of 25 years in prison to life.