Two Russian-born Australian citizens have been accused of obtaining Australian Defence Force material to share with Russian authorities.
Australian Federal Police arrested 40-year-old Kira Korolev, who is an ADF army private, and 62-year-old Igor Korolev at their home in the Brisbane suburb of Everton Park yesterday morning.
The married couple have been charged with one count each of preparing for an espionage offence, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years' imprisonment.
It is the first time an espionage offence has been laid since foreign interference laws were introduced in 2018.
The pair are appearing before Brisbane Magistrates Court today, where police will allege the woman undertook undeclared travel to Russia while on long-term leave from the ADF, where she allegedly instructed her husband on how to log into her work account and access material to send to her.
The couple had been in Australia for more than a decade before the alleged offending.
Police will allege the pair sought the information with the intention to provide it to Russian authorities — whether it was actually shared is still a subject of Operation BURGAZADA's investigation.
Mr Korolev's charge sheet alleged that he had "maintained a relationship with members or affilliates of Russian federation intelligence services" for the purpose of sharing information.
In a mention, Mr and Ms Korolev did not apply for bail.
How someone with a security clearance was able to travel to Russia will also form part of the ongoing investigation.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had been "briefed extensively" on the matter by Australia's security agencies, and said he would not comment beyond saying that the nation's security agencies were doing their job well.
Original story : https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-12/afp-arrest-major-investigation/104089258
