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July 12, 2024 at 02:42PM
A 40-year-old ADF army private and her 62-year-old husband were arrested and charged with spying for Russia in a sting operation named BURGAZADA. Kira and Igor Korolev, living in Australia for over a decade, allegedly worked together to obtain sensitive information from the ADF for the Kremlin. The AFP assured no ongoing threat.
Based on the meeting notes provided, the key takeaways are:
– A 40-year-old Australian Defence Force (ADF) army private and her 62-year-old husband, Kira and Igor Korolev, have been arrested and charged with spying for Russia as part of a sting operation named BURGAZADA.
– They have lived in Australia for over a decade and were arrested in Brisbane on July 11.
– Both have been charged with espionage-related offenses that carry a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
– The Australian Federal Police (AFP) stated that there is no ongoing threat but mentioned that the pair were reportedly working together to obtain sensitive information from the ADF for the Kremlin.
– Kira Korolev allegedly traveled to Russia multiple times while on leave from the ADF, and her husband accessed information from her official work account to send to her private email while she was in Russia.
– The AFP alleges that her ADF credentials were used to access sensitive ADF information and provide it to Russian authorities.
– AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw emphasized the significance of espionage as an insidious crime at a time of global instability, highlighting the heightened efforts of state actors to obtain information from Western democracies.
– This marks only the third time that the AFP has charged individuals with espionage or foreign interference offenses since 1995.