A 29-year-old woman arrested on Sunday on suspicion of being a Russian agent will be detained in the US until her trial, following a series of revelations by US prosecutors.
According to documents lodged in a US federal court yesterday, Maria Butina was “in contact with suspected Russian intelligence officers and a billionaire oligarch linked to the Kremlin”, The Guardian says.
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Beware of Russian honeytraps, MI5 tells UK business
Butina was allegedly in a relationship with a US citizen, whom the BBC has identified as South Dakota political activist Paul Erickson.
However, prosecutors have told the court that Butina had also offered sex to another person “in exchange for a position within a special interest organisation”.
Butina will be held without bail until her trial and, if convicted, faces up to 15 years in prison.