Russia: Former Diplomat sentenced to 12 years for sharing diplomatic secrets with US Intelligence

Russia: A former diplomat and ex-foreign ministry employee has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after being convicted of sharing diplomatic secrets with U.S. intelligence. He will serve his sentence in a maximum-security penal colony.

The accused was detained quietly in 2024, by the officers of FSB, and details of the arrest were not made public at the time.

According to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), the officers arrested the Russian Foreign Ministry employee, Arseniy Konovalov back in March 2024, on suspicion of treason. Where he was charged for leaking the secret of the ministry to the US in exchange for money.

On Friday, December 26, Arseniy Konovalov was presented before the Moscow court where his trial began and the prosecutors started providing evidence to support their charges. During his trial, the prosecution also argued that “the accused handed over some classified intelligence secrets to the U.S. intelligence during his posting period, in exchange of money.”

Following which the accused denied all the charges and said that he is being framed by the authorities. However the justice, after considering all the evidence, found him guilty and sentenced him to 12 years in a maximum-security penal colony for treason.

After the proceedings, when the convicted man was taken to the prison by the authorities, the media started questioning him and officials “What happened in the court.” Replying to which the FBI confirmed that “the court passed its sentence underlining that the diplomat had acted proactively to transfer Russian state secrets while serving abroad.”

The officers also confirmed that “he has served in the Russian Consulate General in Houston during his diplomatic career.” Upon asking about the information he provided to the other country’s intelligence, FSB stated nothing and did not disclose anything about the exact nature, agencies involved.

This case led to the controversy among the governments of America and Russia where they are blaming each other. The public of the nations also took part in the controversy as they are targeting each other's government as one of the users Chris said “We know everyone in the government is corrupt, it’s just that some go to jail and some not.”