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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Brothers face Russia spy charges | Brothers face Russia spy charges |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Russian security officials say they have arrested and charged two brothers with links to British interests. | Russian security officials say they have arrested and charged two brothers with links to British interests. |
| Ilya Zaslavsky is a manager at the TNK-BP oil joint venture, his brother Alexander head of the British Council's Moscow Alumni club. | Ilya Zaslavsky is a manager at the TNK-BP oil joint venture, his brother Alexander head of the British Council's Moscow Alumni club. |
| The two, who have joint US and Russian citizenship, were gathering classified data for foreign firms, the FSB said. | The two, who have joint US and Russian citizenship, were gathering classified data for foreign firms, the FSB said. |
| The arrests are the latest in a series of incidents which has caused serious frictions between Russia and the UK. | The arrests are the latest in a series of incidents which has caused serious frictions between Russia and the UK. |
| British Council work was curtailed last year in a row over the death of ex-security agent Alexander Litvinenko. | British Council work was curtailed last year in a row over the death of ex-security agent Alexander Litvinenko. |
| 'Material proof' | 'Material proof' |
| The Moscow offices of the British oil giant were raided by the authorities on Wednesday. | The Moscow offices of the British oil giant were raided by the authorities on Wednesday. |
| UK-RUSSIA ROW Nov 2006: Alexander Litvinenko dies in LondonMay 2007: UK accuses ex-KGB agent Andrei Lugovoi of murderJuly: Russia refuses British request to extradite Mr LugovoiJuly: UK expels four Russian diplomatsJuly: Russia expels four British embassy staffDec: Russia orders British Council to shut two officesJan 2008: British Council re-opens both offices17 Jan: Both offices suspend work UK-Russia spy warWhy Britain withholds evidence | |
| Russia's security agency, the FSB, has confirmed that the raids were related to the Zaslavsky case. | Russia's security agency, the FSB, has confirmed that the raids were related to the Zaslavsky case. |
| "During the raid, material proof confirming the industrial espionage was found and confiscated," it said in a statement. | "During the raid, material proof confirming the industrial espionage was found and confiscated," it said in a statement. |
| This included business cards of foreign military agencies and the CIA, it said. | This included business cards of foreign military agencies and the CIA, it said. |
| But analysts are interpreting the raid as part of an attempt by the Russian state to gain control of its most prized asset - a vast gas field in Siberia. | |
| Last year state gas giant Gazprom bought a majority stake in the Kovykta field from TNK-BP, and is rumoured to be now seeking to buy a stake in the joint venture itself. | |
| The row is the latest development in ongoing tensions between London and Moscow that began with the murder of Mr Litvinenko, a former KGB agent, in London in November 2006. | |
| The UK wants Russia to hand over businessman Andrei Lugovoi, whom UK investigators suspect of murdering Mr Litvinenko - he died after being given a fatal dose of radioactive polonium 210. | |
| Russia refused to extradite Mr Lugovoi, now a member of the Russian parliament, so Britain expelled four Russian diplomats - Moscow then expelled four British diplomats. |