MOSCOW, June 15. /TASS/. The Moscow City Court has sentenced US national Paul Whelan to 16 years behind bars for espionage against Russia, TASS reports from the court hall.

"The court has ruled to sentence Whelan to 16 years behind bars in a high-security correctional facility," the ruling reads. Whelan has been found guilty under article 276 of the Russian Criminal Code (Espionage).

The prosecution had previously asked the judge to sentence Whelan to 18 years behind bars.

US citizen Paul Whelan, who also holds British, Canadian and Irish passports, is a global security chief at BorgWarner, a Michigan-based automotive components company. The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) earlier said Whelan had been detained on December 28, 2018 in Moscow while on an alleged spy mission. A criminal investigation was opened against him on espionage charges carrying a punishment of up to 20 years behind bars. Whelan had deemed the case against him "politically motivated."