An Australian soldier, Kira Korolev, and her husband, Igor Korolev, have been arrested and charged with spying for Russia. This is the first time Australia has used its new foreign interference laws, introduced in 2018, to charge someone with espionage.
What Happened
Kira, a 40 year old woman, was employed with the ADF and enjoyed access to classified data. Its main subject Igor is a self-employed worker, he has 62 years old. Born in Russia, they have been living in Australia for more than ten years now and only recently got their Australian citizenship.
Offenders revealed that Kira flew to Russia during her break from work. On this get astride, she requested Igor to log her work inbox, then forward her key details. She then purportedly passed this information to the Russians.
Read More: Bigg Boss 17: Abhishek Kumar Cries Inconsolably As Isha Malviya Gets Eliminated
The Investigation
Reece Kershaw, the AFP Commissioner, noted the police are still probing the case. They are still struggling to determine whether any of the patient details which are considered rather sensitive was ever forwarded to Russia. Should they uncover more evidence, all these charges may be aggravated. At the moment Kira and Igor are both defense prepared for an espionage offense which attracts up to 15 years imprisonment.
Security Concerns
Australia’s Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, has been informed about the case but did not comment directly as it is now in court. Both Mr. Kershaw and the head of Australia’s spy agency, Mike Burgess, talked to the media but did not provide many details about the documents or how they discovered the alleged spying.
Mr. Burgess said that many countries try to steal Australia’s secrets and that the threat of espionage is real. He stressed that authorities are always looking out for spying activities.
Reassurance to Allies
Mr. Kershaw assured Australia’s allies that the country is serious about finding and stopping any espionage and foreign interference. The ADF also said they are aware of the arrest of one of their members and take all security breaches very seriously.
