Russia charges ex-employee of US consulate with collaboration

TASS cited a law enforcement agency source as saying Robert Shonov had been detained in Vladivostok and that "after interrogation, he was charged with committing a crime under Article 275.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ('Cooperation on a confidential basis with a foreign state, international or foreign organization')", punishable by up to eight years' jail. It said he was being held in Moscow's Lefortovo prison, usually reserved for serious crimes including espionage.

Russia's FSB security service has charged a former employee of the U.S. consulate in the far eastern city of Vladivostok with illegal covert collaboration with foreigners, the state news agency TASS reported on Monday. TASS cited a law enforcement agency source as saying Robert Shonov had been detained in Vladivostok and that "after interrogation, he was charged with committing a crime under Article 275.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ('Cooperation on a confidential basis with a foreign state, international or foreign organization')", punishable by up to eight years' jail.

It said he was being held in Moscow's Lefortovo prison, usually reserved for serious crimes including espionage. The U.S. Embassy in Moscow said it was aware of the reports but had "nothing further to share at this time".

U.S.-Russian relations have hit rock bottom over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and Washington's decision to respond by imposing economic sanctions and supplying advanced weapons to Kyiv in cooperation with Western partners. In late March, the FSB detained Evan Gershkovich, a U.S. journalist for the Wall Street Journal, on charges of spying, a move that the White House called ridiculous and illegal.

The U.S. consulate in Vladivostok has been closed since December 2020. TASS quoted a court source as saying FSB investigators had requested that Shonov be remanded in custody for three months.

(Writing by Kevin Liffey; editing by Mark Heinrich)