Russia charges jailed American Gene Spector with spying

A Russian-born US citizen already imprisoned on a bribery conviction now faces new espionage charges in Moscow, state news agencies reported.

The Lefortovo court in the Russian capital on Thursday authorized holding Gene Spector on the charges punishable by 10 to 20 years in prison — but did not disclose any details of the case, according to RIA and TASS news agencies.

“The court granted the request of the investigation to detain a US citizen Spector on charges under Article 276 (espionage) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation,” TASS quoted a source at the court as saying.

The court hearing was held behind closed doors because the case materials were classified.

Spector, who was born in what is now St. Petersburg and later moved to the US, where he became a citizen, previously served as chairman of the board of Medpolymerprom Group, a medical equipment company.

In September 2022, Spector was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison after pleading guilty to his role in bribing an aide of former Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich, according to local reporting.

The aide, Anastasia Alekseyeva, was sentenced to 12 years in April for taking bribes in the form of two luxury vacations to Thailand and the Dominican Republic.

Dvorkovich served under former president and prime minister Dmitry Medvedev in 2012-2018. He is also board chairman of Russia’s state railways and head of the international chess federation FIDE.

White House spokesperson John Kirby told CNN that the Biden Administration was still gathering information about Spector’s case and had no comment yet on the new charges.

A State Department spokesperson said they were aware of reports of charges against a US citizen in Russia and were monitoring the situation.

President Biden is facing mounting pressure to secure the release of several Americans wrongfully detained in Russia, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan.

The Kremlin has confirmed that it has held some talks with Washington about the detainees but has repeatedly said prisoner swaps can only be considered after trials.

Gershkovich was arrested in March on suspicion of spying against Russia. Both the US government and the Wall Street Journal have denied the Kremlin’s claims that the reporter was caught “red-handed.”

Whelan is serving a 16-year sentence in a Russian penal colony in the Republic of Mordovia after being convicted of espionage charges that Washington also dismissed as a sham.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone to Whelan Wednesday. During the call, Blinken told Whelan to “keep the faith” and promised “we’re doing everything we can to bring you home as soon as possible,” a source told CNN, which first reported the conversation.

Last December, WNBA star Brittney Griner was released as part of a high-profile prisoner exchange for the notorious Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout, dubbed the “Merchant of Death.”

The swap came only after Griner was sentenced to nine years for possessing vape cartridges containing cannabis oil.

Washington officials negotiating Griner’s release pushed for Whelan to be included in the deal as well, but Moscow would not budge.

With Post wires