Tue Dec 24 12:38:56 UTC 2024: ## US Citizen Receives Second 15-Year Sentence in Russia for Espionage

**Moscow, December 24, 2024** – Eugene Spector, a Russian-born US citizen already serving a prison sentence in Russia for bribery, has been handed a second 15-year jail term on espionage charges. The sentence was announced Tuesday by Russian news agencies.

Spector, a former executive at a Russian medical equipment company, was initially convicted in September 2022 and sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for facilitating bribes to an aide of former Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich. The aide, Anastasia Alekseyeva, received a 12-year sentence for accepting bribes.

Espionage charges against Spector were filed in August 2023, though details of the case remain largely undisclosed. This second conviction adds another 15 years to his existing sentence, significantly extending his imprisonment in Russia. The timing of the announcement coincided with a separate, high-profile espionage trial of US reporter Evan Gershkovich, which is being held behind closed doors.

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