COLUMNS
The Curious Story of an American Arrested by the Kremlin
Jan 8, 2019 | 10:00 GMT
(MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV/AFP/Getty Images)
Highlights
- Russia has arrested an American corporate security director, Paul Whelan, but he doesn't have the profile befitting a non-official cover intelligence officer, even though there are elements in his background that would bring him to the attention of the Kremlin's security services.
- Russian authorities arrested Whelan not long after Russian citizen Maria Butina pleaded guilty in a U.S. court to being an unregistered foreign agent, but it doesn't appear that Moscow is seeking a prisoner swap.
- The Kremlin could try to hold Whelan to exchange him in the future for any "illegal" Russian operative caught operating in the United States.
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