Russian-born Australian army private and her husband charged with espionage

A Russian-born private in the Australian Army and her labourer husband have been charged with stealing sensitive Defence Force material for Kremlin intelligence, raising questions about the way the defence forces screen recruits.

Kira Korolev, 40, and her 62-year-old husband, Igor Korolev, both had their charges heard by a Brisbane magistrate on Friday in the first use of new espionage charges introduced by the former government in 2018. The couple, who arrived in Australia a decade ago, may face sentences of up to 15 years if found guilty.

Kira Korolev, who faced charges of espionage heard at Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday July 12, 2024.

Kira Korolev did not appear in the court. Barrister Dylan Kerr, representing the commissioner of the Australian Federal Police, made an urgent application for the suppression of five names relating to the case in the interest of national security.

Magistrate Ross Mack granted the suppression and adjourned the case to September 20.

Court documents tabled for Kira Korolev’s hearing reveal she is accused of providing unlawful access to defence computer systems, copying and disseminating information and maintaining relationship with Russian Federation intelligence services as far back as December 6, 2022 and as recently as this Thursday, July 11.

Her lawyer told the court there was no application for bail.

Igor Korolev, barefoot in a green top and blue pants, followed the court proceedings with the assistance of an interpreter. When Mack asked if he had any questions, Igor Korolev shook his head and said: “nope”.

He made no bail application and was remanded to reappear along with his wife on September 20.

Vision of the couple’s arrests on Thursday night shows police leading the pair separately to and from dark 4WDs inside a car park, their faces blurred.

Blake Fraser, caretaker of the apartment block where the couple live, said his first hint something was going on was a request from ASIO and the AFP for access to the F block. Then, on Thursday morning, he was greeted by police cars and officers.

“I certainly wouldn’t think that in my lifetime something like this would have happened,” Fraser said.

He had never seen any hint of suspicious activity while the couple lived there.

“I kept my eye out for anything unusual, but honestly, even being here on-site, I never saw anything,” he said.

Australian Security Intelligence Organisation director-general Mike Burgess used a press conference in Canberra on Friday morning to send a message to other Russian spies.

Pointing out it was 70 years since the 1954 Petrov defections, in which Soviet spies masquerading as Russian diplomats defected to Australia, Burgess said: “If you want to share your secrets, please reach out”.

Burgess and Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw said the agencies were investigating whether Kira Korolev had joined the Defence Force with the specific intention of committing espionage, if the couple had arrived in Australia on a specific mission, or if they had more recently been recruited by Russian intelligence.

Kershaw said the investigation so far had not identified any other individuals, “but as you know, often when we make an arrest that is the beginning of an investigation.”

Asked if the pair had been involved with or in contact with any Russian diplomats in Australia, Kershaw said: “That’s something we’ll be looking at as well.”

Court documents allege the couple maintained a relationship with members or affiliates of Russian intelligence services for the purpose of providing the information.

Kershaw said Kira Korolev was employed by the army for several years as an information systems technician and held a security clearance within the Defence Force.

The AFP allege that she travelled to Russia while on long-term leave from the army in 2023 and while she was away, she instructed her husband Igor on how to log into defence systems on her official work account from their Brisbane home.

“We allege her husband would access requested material and would send [it] to his wife in Russia. We allege they sought that information with the intention of providing it to Russian authorities,” Kershaw said.

He said that whether the information was handed over “remains a key focus of our investigation”.

Brisbane labourer Igor Korolev.

Kershaw said no significant security compromise had been identified and that the criminal threat had been disrupted.

“Our Five Eyes partners and the Australian government can be confident that the robust partnerships within the Counter Foreign Interference Taskforce mean we will continue to identify and disrupt espionage and foreign interference activity,” Kershaw said.

Asked how the army missed the alleged risk when vetting the security clearance of a Russian woman who became a citizen only in 2016, Kershaw said this was being investigated. The husband, who speaks limited English, became a citizen in 2020.

Burgess said the taskforce had been alerted to suspicious activity by Defence, which allowed the taskforce to intervene and “control the operation”.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had been briefed extensively on the operation.

He would not comment on the case before the courts, but warned that “people will be held to account who interfere with our national interest and that’s precisely what these arrests represent”.

The Australian Defence Force released a statement saying that in response to any serious allegations about an ADF member, their access to Defence bases and systems was cancelled immediately.

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.