Imprisoned US citizen handed second jail term for espionage by Russian court

Gene Spector is already in prison after being convicted of bribery.

A Russian-born US citizen already imprisoned in Russia on a bribery conviction has been handed a second 15-year jail term for espionage, news agencies have reported.

A Moscow court brought espionage charges against Gene Spector in August 2023, although details surrounding the case were not made public.

Spector, formerly an executive at a medical equipment company in Russia, was previously sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison in September 2022 for enabling bribes to an aide of former deputy prime minister Arkady Dvorkovich.

The aide, Anastasia Alekseyeva, was sentenced to 12 years in April for taking bribes of two expensive overseas holiday trips.

Mr Dvorkovich was a deputy prime minister under Dmitry Medvedev between 2012 and 2018. He is currently head of the international chess federation FIDE.

By Press Association