Two US Citizens Arrested For Spying For BP In Russia

[December]

It seems like the neo-cons are trying to get a piece of Russia's wealth illegally.....
The US State Department didn't say a word so far.....

http://www.lowculture.com/archives/images/gasoline_looting_georgia.jpg

In Moscow an employee of the TNK-BP oil company and a British Council project manager have been released on bail having spent six days in custody. They were arrested for allegedly acquiring classified information. The FSB has charged them with commercial espionage.

The FSB detained the two men, who have citizenship of both Russia and the U.S., on March 12 and charged them on March 18.
The two arrested are brothers bearing the surname Zaslavsky. They are suspected of gathering classified information for foreign oil and gas companies.

The Russian security service said yesterday’s search in TNK-BP’s offices was connected with the investigation. The FSB said the search provided proof of their guilt.
Among the documents seized during the search were classified reports on Russian natural resources. Also business cards of employees of foreign military services and the CIA were discovered.
The Zaslavsky brothers were later released, but are not allowed to leave the country.

Meanwhile, the British Embassy in Moscow says it is watching the situation closely, but refrained from commenting on the news.
The British Council is also monitoring the situation. They have pointed out that one of the Zaslavsky brothers is not a member of the organisation, but a member of a project within it, the Alumni Association.

http://www.russiatoday.ru/news/news/22422

[December]

Two US Citizens Arrested For Spying....

http://youtube.com/watch?v=SJMveFhEa-c

[PostmodernProphet]

remember the good old days when people spied for governments?......

[December]

Russia says no link between British Council and TNK-BP arrests
21/ 03/ 2008

MOSCOW, March 21 (RIA Novosti) - The arrest of Ilya Zaslavsky, employed by TNK-BP Russian-British venture, and his brother is not related to the recent closure of British Council offices, a Russian Foreign Ministry official said Friday.

The Federal Security Service on Thursday said that on March 12 officers had detained TNK-BP's Ilya Zaslavsky, along with his brother Alexander, who has links with the British Council, for "illegally gathering secret commercial information for the benefit of several foreign oil and gas companies, in order to give them advantages over Russian competitors."

The British Council, the U.K. Embassy's cultural arm, said Ilya Zaslavsky was not on its staff but was a member of the embassy's alumni club for foreign graduates of British universities. The British Council, whose regional offices in Russia were closed down earlier this year over alleged tax violations, subsequently voiced its concern over the arrests.
However, Russia denied there was a connection between the two matters.
"There is no sense in looking for a connection between these two completely separate cases," Andrei Krivtsov, a deputy head of the Foreign Ministry's information and press department, said.
TNK-BP's stock fell 4.5% on the RTS exchange after the news.

http://en.rian.ru/world/20080321/101900165.html

[December]

......the lates news............

Oil major BP recalls 148 employees from Russia

25/ 03/ 2008

http://img.rian.ru/images/10183/26/101832624.jpg


MOSCOW, March 25 (RIA Novosti) - A total of 148 employees of Britain's BP working in Russia for TNK-BP have been recalled from the country due to problems with registration, the Russian-British venture said on Tuesday.
"We confirm that 148 employees of BP have been recalled from TNK-BP. The reason for their recall is that the status of their stay in Russia has not been fully regulated in line with Russian migration laws," a TNK-BP spokesperson said.
Sources close to the situation earlier said that some of the company's staff had travelled to Russia on business visas, while they should have obtained work visas.
Security officials said copies of official documents, papers on oil and gas production believed to contain commercial secrets, as well as ID cards belonging to foreign military organizations and to the CIA were found during the searches.

The Federal Security Service said that on March 12 officers had detained TNK-BP's Ilya Zaslavsky, along with his brother Alexander, who has links with the British Council, for "illegally gathering secret commercial information for the benefit of several foreign oil and gas companies, in order to give them advantages over Russian competitors."
The British Council, the U.K. Embassy's cultural arm, said Ilya Zaslavsky was not on its staff but was a member of the embassy's alumni club for foreign graduates of British universities. The British Council, whose regional offices in Russia were closed down earlier this year over alleged tax violations, subsequently voiced its concern over the arrests.

READ MORE - http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080325/102211376.html