Australian army private and her husband accused of spying for Russia

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An Australian army private and her husband are accused of spying for Russia in the first charges brought under Australia’s sweeping espionage laws enacted in 2018.

The Russian-born couple are Australian citizens with Russian passports and are scheduled to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday. They are each charged with one count of preparing for an espionage offense, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw said.

“The AFP will allege the individuals worked together to access Australian Defense Force material that related to Australia’s national security interests,” Kershaw told reporters. “We allege they sought that information with the intention of providing it to Russian authorities. Whether that information was handed over remains a key focus of our investigation."

While the couple are the first suspected operatives to be charged under the modernized espionage laws that also outlaw covert foreign interference in domestic politics, Australian security forces have disrupted alleged Russian spies in recent years.

Australia had quietly expelled a large Russian spy ring comprising embassy and consular staff as well as other operatives using deep-cover identities, a spy agency official and media reported last year.

Police arrested the suspects at their Brisbane home Thursday. The 42-year-old woman is an Australian Defense Force information systems technician, and her 62-year-old husband is a self-employed laborer. They moved to Australia more than a decade ago. The woman became an Australian citizen in 2016 and her husband in 2020.

Police allege the woman secretly traveled to Russia in 2023 while on extended leave from the Australian military. The husband allegedly accessed the woman’s work account from their Brisbane home and sent requested classified information to her in Russia.

Burgess declined to say how authorities were tipped off. But the Defense Department’s security awareness “allowed us to intervene early and control the operation,” Burgess said.

The charge against each suspect carries a potential maximum sentence of 15 years in prison if either is convicted. If sufficient evidence was found that the information had been shared with Russia, the charges could be upgraded and the potential maximum prison terms upon conviction would be 25 years or life.

The Russian Embassy in Australia did not immediately respond to The Associated Press’s request for comment on Friday.

Russia last year accused Australia of “ Russophobic hysteria” for canceling the lease on land where Moscow wanted to build its new embassy. The Australian government judged the site to be a security risk because it was too close to Parliament House.

Mike Burgess, secretary-general of security at the Australian Security Intelligence Organization secret service, warned foreign spies that “when we can support a prosecution, we will support a prosecution.”