Wednesday, July 14, 2010

12th Person Detained In Russian Spy Ring Was A Microsoft Employee

12th Person Detained In Russian Spy Ring Was A Microsoft Employee

Federal Law Enforcement Officials Say Karetnikov Entered The United States Last October

12th Person Detained In Russian Spy Ring Was A Microsoft Employee
REDMOND - A man who worked at Microsoft in Redmond is on his way back to Russia. Alexey Karetnikov is a Russian citizen and on Monday a Federal Immigration Judge ordered him deported and never to return.

He was among 12 people who were arrested as part of a bust of an accused Russian spy ring.

Federal law enforcement officials say Karetnikov entered the United States last October.

10 others including two who once lived in Seattle pleaded guilty to charges last week and were deported. An 11th was released from custody and has since disappeared.

Karetnikov admitted that he was present in the United States in violation of immigration law and voluntarily agreed to deportation in lieu of further court proceedings, deputy Homeland Security press secretary Matt Chandler said in a statement.

Once deported, Karetnikov would face criminal and civil penalties if he returned without U.S. government permission, Chandler said.

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Law enforcement officials said that Karetnikov had been staying in a different part of the United States from the Russian agents who were arrested on criminal charges June 27 and had no ties to them other than that his name came up as part of the same criminal investigation.

The Justice Department investigated thoroughly and would have prosecuted Karetnikov if authorities had had enough evidence to do so, the officials said.

To date, investigators have uncovered no evidence the man possessed, retained or passed on sensitive or classified information, said one of the officials.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity earlier Tuesday in order to discuss details that went beyond court documents. The matter was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

In the biggest spy swap since the Cold War, 10 Russian agents who infiltrated suburban America were deported last week in exchange for four people convicted of betraying Moscow to the West.

They were all living near New York, Washington or Boston. An 11th defendant, the ring's alleged paymaster, has been a fugitive since fleeing authorities in Cyprus following his release on bail.

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