Anna Chapman to be Stripped of British Citizenship?

By: Carlin DeGuerin Miller
Topics: Daily Blotter

Anna Chapman (Personal Photo)

NEW YORK (CBS/AP) Anna Chapman, the Russian spy who quickly became a tabloid darling for her flame-red hair and active social life, may have fewer post-espionage options than she thought.

PICTURES: Anna Chapman

Chapman spent several years in London. She was married to a British man, and while they divorced, it is believed she holds dual British-Russian citizenship.

On Friday Chapman's lawyer said that she was very upset about leaving the American life she had set up for herself, but was possibly looking to relocate to Britain after spending some time with family in Russia.

The British government may feel differently, saying Friday that it is considering stripping her of her British citizenship.

"The Home Secretary has the right to deprive dual nationals of their British citizenship where she considers that to do so would be conducive to the public good," a Home Office spokesperson said Friday according to the London Evening Standard. "This case is under urgent consideration."

Officials are said to be looking into her four-year marriage to Alex Chapman, which ended in 2006, to determine if it was a sham aimed at obtaining British citizenship, according to Evening Standard.

Chapman, along with the nine other suspects arrested for espionage, pleaded guilty to conspiring to act as unregistered foreign agents as part of a "spy swap" between the U.S. and Russia. Chapman's lawyer told CBS News' The Early Show that although Chapman has truthfully plead guilty to the espionage charges, her acts were very different from the others charged with her.

Complete coverage of Anna Chapman on Crimesider.