The spy who loved me: Brisbane soldier and her Russian husband charged with espionage
Two Russian-born Australian citizens will face court after being charged with obtaining defence material to share with officials in Moscow.
The pair, a married couple, were arrested at their home in Brisbane on Thursday and each charged with an espionage offence, which comes with a maximum of 15 years in prison.
It’s alleged a 40-year-old woman, who is an army private in the defence force, and a 62-year-old man, were working together to obtain sensitive information.
Australian Federal Police say the woman instructed the man on how to log in to her official work account and guided him to access information to send to her while she was in Russia.
It’s alleged the information related to national security interests, with police saying the couple had the intent to provide it to Russian authorities.
The woman had been on long-term leave from the defence force since 2023.
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It is the first time espionage charges have been laid since federal laws were introduced in 2018.
ASIO director-general Mike Burgess said many countries were attempting to steal Australian secret information.
“Espionage is not some quaint cold war notion. Espionage damages our economy and degrades our strategic advantage,” he said.
“It can have catastrophic real-world consequences.”
The pair will face Brisbane Magistrates Court on the espionage charges later on Friday.
