Russian Spy Swap in the Works? Cold War-Style Intrigue Continues
MOSCOW (CBS/AP) The spy novel atmosphere of intrigue in the bust of an alleged Russian spy ring continued Wednesday when reports surfaced that two of the ten suspects arrested could be swapped for an imprisoned arms-control researcher and others who are currently in prison in Russia for passing secrets to the U.S.
Dmitry Sutyagin says his brother Igor, who is serving a 14-year prison term, was told he is among the convicted spies who are to be exchanged for Russians arrested by the FBI.
A scheduled Wednesday court hearing in Alexandria, Va., for the two suspects rumored to be possible candidates for the swap - Michael Zottoli, and Patricia Mills, as well as for a third suspect Mikhail Semenko, was canceled and the trio was ordered to New York.
Officials in both countries refused to comment on Dmitry Sutyagin's claims but he says his brother could be taken first to Vienna and then to the U.S. as early as Thursday.
The spy swap, if it happens, would not be the first for the two nations, many such spy swaps reportedly occurred during the Cold War. One of the most famous cases involved downed U.S. U-2 spy plane pilot Francis Gary Powers who was exchanged for KGB spy Col. Rudolph Abel in 1962.
The Associated Press has released information on four people who are reported to have been offered bu Russia in the swap:
- Igor Sutyagin, a military analyst with the U.S.A. and Canada Institute, a respected Moscow-based think-tank, was sentenced to 15 years in 2004 on charges of passing information on nuclear submarines and other weapons to a British company that Russia claimed was a CIA cover. Sutyagin has insisted on his innocence, saying the information he provided was available from open sources. His family said he had told them this week that he and other convicted spies would be exchanged for 11 arrested members of an alleged Russian spy ring in the United States.
- Sergei Skripal, a former colonel in the Russian military intelligence, was found guilty of passing state secrets to Britain and sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2006. He was accused of revealing the names of several dozen Russian agents working in Europe. Sutyagin told his relatives that he saw Skripal's name on the list of 11 candidates for the spy swap.
- Alexander Sypachev, a colonel in the Russian intelligence service, sentenceed in 2002 to eight years in prison on charges of passing secrets to the CIA. He was arrested while placing an envelope containing his report in a secret location. Sypachev pleaded guilty and cooperated with investigators. The newspaper Kommersant cited Russian intelligence sources as saying Sypachev was included on the list of 11.
- Alexander Zaporozhsky, a former colonel in the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, sentenced in 2003 to 18 years in prison for espionage on behalf of the United States. Zaporozhsky quit the service in 1997 and settled in the United States; Russia enticed him back and arrested him in 2001. He was convicted on charges of passing secret information about Russian agents working under cover in the United States and about American sources working for Russian intelligence. Kommersant reported that Zaporozhsky is also on the list of swap candidates.
The United States arrested 10 people on June 27 and charged them with being in an alleged spy ring and trying to obtain information about American business, scientific and political affairs.
Prosecutors say for the last decade the alleged spies engaged in secret global travel with false passports, secret code words, fake names, invisible ink and encrypted radio.
All of those arrested in the U.S. are still being detained and the U.S. government has opposed granting them bail. U.S. citizen Vicky Pelaez was granted $250,000 bail with electronic monitoring and home detention but the government is appealing the decision.
Complete Coverage of the Alleged Russian Spy Ring on Crimesider.
