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Ukraine’s ‘industrial spy’ to stay in Russian custody till August

The man allegedly gathered scientific and technical information on the work of the Russian machine-building enterprises and in particular the Urals Turbine Plant

© Screenshot TASS

YEKATERINBURG, June 17. /TASS/. The Ukrainian citizen arrested in Russia’s Urals city Yekaterinburg earlier this year on suspicion of hunting for industrial secrets, will remain in custody for at least two more months, the Federal Security Service (FSB) department in the Sverdlovsk region said on Wednesday.

"The custody has been extended for another two months, until August," the press service said.

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Sergey Skirta was caught red-handed in February as he received the first package of engineering materials on the production of high-tech energy equipment, the FSB officials said earlier.

A criminal case has been opened against Skirta into "illegally receiving and disclosing information that contains commercial, tax or banking secrets." The Ukrainian earlier confessed to having committed the illegal activity.

According to investigators, Skirta gathered scientific and technical information on the work of the Russian machine-building enterprises and in particular the Urals Turbine Plant (UTZ).

The Russian manufacturer, one of the country’s leaders in manufacturing and supply of energy equipment, said earlier the transfer of the documents to the foreign side could have caused damage worth hundreds of millions of rubles.

Upon his detention, Skirta said he worked for the Ukrainian-Belarusian enterprise Ukrtekhnosintez, part of Ukrrosmetall concern. The FSB officials found business cards with the company’s logo and other documents confirming his links to it. The enterprise however has rejected the Ukrainian citizen’s claims.

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