Moment Russian diplomat is ambushed by FSB agents and detained in van for ‘passing secrets to US intelligence’
Russian diplomat caught selling secrets to US intelligence was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
The moment Arseniy Konovalov was ambushed by Federal Security Service (FSB) agents was captured on video.
In the clip shared on Russian news outlets today, the 38-year-old man is seen looking shocked as he is detained while traveling in a minibus after being told he is suspected of treason.
A separate video shows the diplomat behind bars awaiting trial.
A Moscow court on Friday found the former Russian diplomat guilty of treason and sentenced him to 12 years in a maximum security penal colony.
He was also fined the equivalent of $1,200.
In the statement made by the FSB, it was said: “It was determined that AS Konovalov, an employee of the Russian Foreign Ministry, proactively transferred classified information to American intelligence in exchange for money during his long-term foreign mission in the USA.”
Konovalov was first detained by the FSB, which manages Russian counterintelligence, in March 2024.
The moment Arseniy Konovalov was ambushed by Federal Security Service (FSB) agents was captured on video
A separate video shows the 38-year-old diplomat behind bars awaiting trial
Konovalov will spend 12 years behind bars after Moscow court finds him guilty of treason
The FSB did not say what information Konovalov passed on to US intelligence or which US agency he was accused of working with.
There was no immediate comment from American spy agencies.
Russia’s Kommersant newspaper reported that Konovalov served as the second secretary at the Russian Consulate General in Houston.
He worked in the United States from 2014 to 2017, the publication said.
