The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.
Bloomberg
Russia’s Federal Security Service detained a US citizen in Moscow on suspicion of espionage on December 28, Interfax news agency reported.
The investigation department of the FSB, as the domestic security service is widely known, started a criminal case and investigations are underway, Interfax said, citing the FSB. It didn’t provide any details on where the person was being held.
The detention comes amid heightened tensions between Russia and the US, including over Maria Butina, a Russian gun enthusiast who pleaded guilty earlier this month in the US to conspiring to act as an unregistered foreign agent.
Butina said in court that she’d been operating as a Kremlin agent as she befriended National Rifle Association leaders and influential US conservatives.
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke out about the case on December 20, saying he didn’t understand why Butina was detained and that he would support her.