Russia sentences US citizen to 15 years for collecting Russian genetic data

US citizen Eugene Spector has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for gathering genetic data of Russian citizens for the Pentagon, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has said.

The FSB stated on Friday that Spector collected and transferred classified biotechnological and biomedical information, including state secrets, to foreign entities connected to the Pentagon.

The objective of this data collection was said to be the creation of a genetic screening system for Russian citizens.

Last Tuesday, a local court in Moscow sentenced US citizen Eugene Spector to 15 years in prison for espionage, according to Russian state media.

Spector, who was born in Russia, was sentenced to 13 years in a maximum security penal colony by the Moscow City Court, bringing his total sentence to 15 years after accounting for an earlier sentence, Russian state news agency TASS reported, citing the court's verdict text.

The court also upheld a fine of around 14 million Russian rubles (about $140,000) previously imposed on Spector, the media outlet said, adding that the case was heard behind closed doors.

In June 2021, Moscow's Ostankino Court sentenced Spector to four years in a maximum security penal colony for bribery.

The ruling was later overturned by the Moscow City Court, but Spector was sentenced to three and a half years at his retrial in September 2022.

The espionage charges against Spector were introduced later by Moscow's Lefortovo Court in August 2023.