Australian soldier and husband charged with spying for Russia

An Australian soldier and her husband have been arrested and charged with spying for Russia.

According to BBC reports, the couple, who are both Russian-born Australian citizens, obtained Australian Defence Force (ADF) material to share with Moscow.

Australian Police stated that no significant compromise of military secrets has been identified.

This is the first time Australia's stricter foreign interference laws, introduced in 2018, have been used to lay espionage charges. The 40-year-old woman, an army private, and her 62-year-old husband will face court in Brisbane today, each charged with preparing for an espionage offence, which carries a maximum 15-year jail sentence.

Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Reece Kershaw stated that the woman, an information systems technician in the army, had obtained a security clearance and allegedly travelled to Russia secretly while on leave from the ADF.

She then instructed her husband to access her work account and send sensitive material so that she could forward it to Russian authorities.

Kershaw has mentioned that an investigation into whether any of the material was delivered to Russia is still underway, and the charges could be upgraded.

Australia's Intelligence Agency head, Mike Burgess, emphasized that espionage is a real threat and multiple countries are seeking to steal Australia's secrets.

Both Kershaw and Burgess declined to answer questions about the nature of the documents or how authorities were tipped off about the alleged crimes during the media briefing.

In a statement, the ADF acknowledged one of its members had been arrested and stated that it takes all breaches of security seriously.

Source: BBC