MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An Australian soldier and her husband have been accused of spying for Russia, the first charges brought under the Australian government. far-reaching espionage laws announced in 2018.
The Russian-born couple are Australian citizens with Russian passports and are due to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday, each charged with preparing to commit an espionage offence, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw said.
“The AFP will allege that the individuals worked together to gain access to Australian Defence Force material that related to Australia’s national security interests,” Kershaw told reporters. “We allege that they requested that information with the intention of providing it to Russian authorities. Whether that information was transferred remains a key focus of our investigation.”
Although the couple are the first suspected agents to be charged under modernized espionage laws that also ban covert foreign interference in domestic politics, Australian security services have stopped suspected Russian spies in recent years.
Australia had quietly expelled a large part of its population Russian spy ring According to an intelligence official and media reports, the group included embassy and consulate employees, as well as other agents working under secret identities.
Police arrested the suspects at their Brisbane home on Thursday. The 42-year-old woman is an information systems technician with the Australian Defence Force and her 62-year-old husband is a self-employed worker. They moved to Australia more than a decade ago. The woman became an Australian citizen in 2016 and her husband in 2020.
Police allege the woman secretly travelled to Russia in 2023 while on extended leave from the Australian Army. The husband allegedly accessed the woman’s work account from their Brisbane home and sent her confidential information requested from Russia.
Burgess declined to say how authorities were tipped off. But the Defense Department’s security awareness “enabled us to intervene early and control the operation,” Burgess said.
The charges against each suspect carry a potential maximum prison sentence of 15 years if either is convicted. If sufficient evidence is found that the information was shared with Russia, the charges could be upgraded and the potential maximum prison sentences upon conviction would be 25 years or life.
The Russian Embassy in Australia did not immediately respond to The Associated Press’s request for comment on Friday.
Russia accused Australia last year of “ “Russophobic hysteria” for cancelling the lease on the land where Moscow wanted to build its new embassy. The Australian government deemed the location a security risk because it was too close to parliament.
Mike Burgess, secretary-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, warned foreign spies that “where we can support a prosecution, we will support a prosecution.”
