Australian Federal Police
AFP chairman Reece Kershaw was speaking to media after two Russian-born Australians were charged with espionage.
Brisbane, Australia
CNN
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Australia The Australian Federal Prosecutor’s Office has charged two Russian-born Australian citizens with conspiring to obtain information from the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and pass it on to Russian authorities.
The couple, who are citizens, have been in Australia for more than 10 years and were arrested at their home in Everton Park, in Brisbane’s northern suburbs, on Thursday, according to the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO).
The Russian-born woman, 40, was an army private who had worked as an information systems technician in the Australian Defence Force for several years, the agencies said in a joint press conference on Friday.
She added that she became an Australian citizen in 2016 and her Russian-born, self-employed husband, 62, became an Australian citizen in 2020.
“The Australian Federal Police will allege that these individuals conspired to access Australian Defence Force material related to Australia’s national security interests,” Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw said.
Kershaw added that no “significant breaches” had been identified and no other individuals appear to be involved, but said the investigation was still in its early stages.
Authorities have not released the couple’s names, but they are both scheduled to appear in court later Friday.
The Australian Federal Police will allege the woman travelled to Russia without notifying Australian authorities while on extended leave from the Australian Defence Force last year.
“We allege that whilst she was in Russia she instructed her husband, who remained in Australia, how to log into his official work account from his home in Brisbane,” Mr Kershaw said.
“We have provided her husband with access to the requested materials and [it] “He had contacted his wife in Russia. We allege they were seeking that information with a view to providing it to Russian authorities.”
Kershaw said the investigation would focus on whether the information was passed on to Russian authorities – if so, the charge could be upgraded to espionage.
The investigation will include how the woman gained security clearance to access classified ADF material and how she was able to circumvent the system and travel to Russia undetected.
“There was misrepresentation on her part about where she was and what country she was in,” Kershaw said.
This is the first time that espionage charges have been applied since the new law was introduced in 2018.
The maximum sentence for conspiring to commit espionage is 15 years in prison. For felony offenses, the maximum sentence is 25 years to life in prison.
ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess said the arrests showed the strength of Australia’s national security culture, not weakness.
“The threat of espionage is real – there are multiple countries trying to steal Australian secrets – we cannot be complacent or complacent,” he said.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
