A Russian-born American citizen, currently serving time in Russia, has received an additional prison sentence of 15 years on espionage charges, according to reports from Russian news outlets on Tuesday.
The Moscow court had filed these espionage charges against Gene Spector back in August 2023, yet the specifics of the case have not been disclosed.
The U.S. State Department acknowledged having knowledge of the sentencing of an American citizen in Russia and is actively keeping an eye on developments regarding this situation.
Spector, who previously held a position as an executive at a medical equipment firm in Russia, had earlier been sentenced to 3.5 years in prison in September 2022. This prior conviction was related to his involvement in facilitating bribes for Anastasia Alekseyeva, an aide to the former Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich. Alekseyeva herself received a 12-year prison sentence in April for accepting bribes that included lavish overseas vacations.
Arkady Dvorkovich served as deputy prime minister from 2012 to 2018 under Dmitry Medvedev and currently holds the position of head of the international chess federation, known as FIDE.