In a short statement Monday, Russia’s Tass news agency said authorities arrested American Paul Whelan “in Moscow while on a spy mission” and that he faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison if convicted. “On December 28, staff members of the Russian Federal Security Service detained U.S. citizen Paul Whelan in Moscow while on a spy mission,” the FSB, the successor to the Soviet-era KGB service, said in a statement on its website. The statement said a criminal case has been registered under Article 276 of the Russian Criminal Code, which allows for sentences up to 20 years in prison. A State Department spokesperson said the department has been “formally notified of the detention” and has requested access to Whelan. The arrest comes amid the conviction of Russian citizen Maria Butina in the United States for acting as a Russia state agency, infiltrating conservative political groups, BBC reported.
Russia's FSB state security agency says it has arrested a U.S. citizen "caught spying" in Moscow. According to former CIA officials the arrest was done as a retaliation for the arrest of alleged Russian spy Maria Butina.