Russian-born US citizen Gene Spector jailed in Moscow on espionage charges

A Moscow court has sentenced a Russian-born US citizen to 15 years in prison on espionage charges, Russian news agencies report.

Businessman Gene Spector was already serving a three-and-a-half-year sentence, having been originally arrested in 2020 on bribery charges.

Last year, he was also accused of spying. Details of the alleged offences have not been publicly released due to the secretive nature of the case, agencies report, and the trial took place behind closed doors.

Russia has taken a number of high-profile American prisoners in recent times – one of whom, journalist Evan Gershkovich, was released earlier this year as part of the biggest swap deal between the countries for decades.

The US Department of State is yet to comment on Spector’s case. The BBC has approached it for a statement.

Spector’s 15-year sentence was reportedly due to be served in a strict-regime penal colony.

It comprises 13 years for the new conviction, plus the time he had left to serve on the prior one. An earlier fine of 14 million roubles ($140,000; £112,000) was also upheld.

In the earlier charges, Spector was accused in 2020 of acting as an intermediary in a bribery case relating to an assistant of Russia’s former deputy prime minister. He pleaded guilty.

Spector, whose Russian name is Yevgeny Mironovich, was born in 1972 in what is now St Petersburg, and was again living the city with his family, the agency RIA Novosti reported.

At some point in his life, he moved to the US and obtained citizenship, according to another news agency, Tass. Back in Russia, he went on to lead Medpolimerprom: a group of companies that make medical supplies.

The news comes just months after a landmark prisoner swap.

In August, 24 people were involved in an exchange between Russia and some Western countries including the US and Germany.

They included US citizens Evan Gershkovich – a Wall Street Journal reporter – and former US Marine Paul Whelan.

The trade was described as the biggest exchange since the end of the Cold War between Russia and the West.

Tensions between the two sides have been especially high in recent years, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in February 2022.