Australian Federal Police (AFP) has arrested a Russian-born couple in Brisbane for allegedly working to obtain sensitive defence information.
Kira Korolev, a 40-year-old army private, and her husband Igor Korolev, a 62-year-old self-employed labourer, were charged with an espionage-related offence on July 11.
The espionage charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
The AFP said it was the first time an espionage charge had been laid in Australia after security law reforms in 2018.
The couple was arrested under Operation BURGAZADA, led by the Counter Foreign Interference Taskforce, which included the AFP, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), and other federal agencies.
The couple have lived in Australia for 10 years, with the wife obtaining Australian citizenship in 2016 and the husband in 2020.
Ms. Korolev was supposed to appear in the Brisbane Arrest Court on July 12 to have her matter heard.
However, she did not show up, and the court decided to move her matter to the Federal Court on Sept. 20.
The Espionage Charge
According to authorities, Ms. Korolev allegedly undertook non-declared travel to Russia while on long-term leave from the Australian Defence Force (ADF) since 2023.When her husband remained in Australia, Ms. Korolev allegedly instructed him to log into the defence system on her official work account, access sensitive information, and send it to her private email account while she was in Russia.
It was also alleged that Ms. Korolev used her work account credentials on many occasions to access sensitive information with the intent to provide it to Russian authorities.
The AFP said the information allegedly accessed by the couple was related to Australia’s national security interests.
However, investigations are currently being carried out to determine whether the couple has provided the information to Russia.
Australian authorities also did not disclose the nature of the information allegedly accessed by the pair.
AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw said state actors had strengthened their efforts to obtain information held by Western democracies, including Australia, amid the current unstable global situation.
However, the commissioner said Australia, via its “mature national security community,” had the ability to identify and disrupt espionage efforts.
ASIO director-general Mike Burgess also warned that his agency would take action against malicious actors targeting Australia.
“Foreign intelligence services are capable, determined, and patient. They play the long game,” he said.
“The problem for them is ASIO does too ... if you’re conducting espionage in this country, we will detect you, and we will deal with you.
“This case demonstrates an effective security culture.”
Concerns About Security Clearance Vetting
Following the couple’s arrest, Mr. Burgess said security clearance vetting for military personnel was not a panacea.“Vetting is not a solution that stops problems,” he told reporters.
“If you meet the requirements to get a security clearance, you'll get a security clearance, but that doesn’t mean to say the security journey stops at this point.”
“We will work with defence to work through what is the teachable moment here if there are any.”
Meanwhile, the Defence Department said that it took all breaches of security seriously.
“In response to serious allegations, it is general practice to suspend an ADF member from service, including immediately cancelling the member’s access to Defence bases and ICT systems,” it said.
“Defence continues to work with the Counter Foreign Interference Task Force.”
