MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An Australian Army private accused of spying for Russia and her husband were denied bail Friday on the first charges against them under Australia’s intelligence and surveillance laws. Comprehensive espionage law It was enacted in 2018.
Kira Korolyov, 40, and her husband Igor Korolyov, 62, are Russian-born Australian citizens who hold Russian passports. They did not appear in court but were represented by lawyers in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on charges of preparing to commit espionage.
The defendants have not pleaded guilty and are scheduled to next appear in federal court on September 20. Their lawyers have not made any public statements.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw had earlier told reporters the couple were “working together to gain access to Australian Defence Force material which is relevant to Australia’s national security interests”.
“We allege they were seeking that information with the intent to provide it to Russian authorities. Whether that information was turned over is a key focus of our investigation,” Kershaw said.
Kershaw said no “significant breaches” had been identified and Australia’s intelligence-sharing partners, the Five Eyes – the United States, Britain, Canada and New Zealand – could be assured that Australian authorities would continue to identify and thwart espionage attempts.
The couple are the first suspects to be charged under a modernized espionage law that also bans covert foreign interference in domestic politics, although Australian security forces have thwarted suspected Russian spies in recent years.
Australia is secretly a large Russian spy ring Intelligence officials and media reported last year that the group included embassy and consulate officials as well as other operatives with secret identities.
Police arrested the Korolyovs at their Brisbane home on Thursday. The woman is an information systems technician in the Australian Defence Force and the husband is self-employed. They immigrated to Australia more than 10 years ago. The woman became an Australian citizen in 2016 and the husband in 2020.
Police allege the woman secretly travelled to Russia while on sabbatical from the Australian military in 2023. Her husband allegedly accessed the woman’s work account from his home in Brisbane and sent the requested classified information to her in Russia.
Mike Burgess, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation’s executive director for security at the secret service, would not say how authorities got the information, but he said the Australian Defence Force’s security awareness “enabled us to intervene early and take control of the operation”.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia’s security agencies were able to counter the growing espionage threat, and pointed to recent extensions to Burgess and Kershaw’s contracts as evidence of his confidence.
“They are well versed in these issues and if they act against Australia’s national interests they will be caught by our security agencies,” Mr Albanese said.
The Defense Ministry declined to answer questions from The Associated Press about the private’s duties or when he enlisted, citing the trial and obligations to protect the privacy of military personnel.
Such serious allegations would typically result in the personnel being suspended from duty and the immediate revocation of their access to the base and information, communications and technology systems, the defense statement said.
The charges against the two men carry a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison if either is found guilty, but if there is sufficient evidence that information was provided to Russia, the charges could be increased to 25 years or life in prison if convicted.
The Russian Embassy in Australia did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press on Friday.
Last year, Russia described Australia as Russophobic hysteria” The Australian government has terminated its lease on land where Moscow was planning to build its new embassy, deciding that the site was too close to Parliament and posed a security risk.
Burgess warned foreign spies that “where we can assist in a prosecution, we will assist in a prosecution.”
The couple are the first to be charged under the espionage section of the 2018 law, but two Australians have now been charged with foreign interference under a series of security reforms aimed at countering Chinese attempts to shape Australian government policy.
Melbourne businessman, community leader and Vietnamese refugee Di San Duong He was convicted in December last year of working undercover for the Chinese Communist Party.
The 68-year-old was sentenced in February to two years and nine months in prison for plotting to commit foreign interference, a charge he denies.
Sydney businessman Alexander Chergo was released on bail last month after having been held in custody since his arrest in April last year. Chergo, 56, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of recklessly assisting Chinese intelligence and is awaiting a trial date.
Justin Bassi, a former government national security adviser who was the lead drafter of the 2018 reforms, said the espionage allegations were serious.
“There aren’t a lot of cases and ideally we’d like to see more, but it’s not necessarily about the number of cases,” said Bassi, who is now executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute think tank.
“Having a law like this in place and applying it from time to time has a huge deterrent effect,” Bassi said.
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