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Court sentences US national Spector to 15 years in prison for espionage

The court also upheld the $140,000 fine earlier imposed on the man

MOSCOW, December 24. /TASS/. Moscow City Court has sentenced Gene Spector, a US citizen, to 15 years in prison on espionage charges, the court ruling reviewed by TASS shows.

"Spector received a 13-year prison sentence, and combined (with the previous sentence) he is now sentenced to 15 years in a maximum-security facility," the judge stated.

The court also upheld the 14 million rubles ($140,000) fine earlier imposed on him.

The court hearing was closed to the public. The judge announced only the verdict. TASS has not yet received further details of the charges Spector faces.

Spector was born and grew up in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) but later moved to the US and was granted citizenship. He was the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Medpolymerprom Group, specializing in cancer drugs. Earlier, he was charged with mediating bribes for Anastasia Alekseyeva, a former aide to ex-Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich. The court sentenced Spector to 3.5 years in prison.

According to investigators, in 2015-2016, Alekseyeva received bribes amounting to more than four million rubles ($40,000) for actions benefiting the bribe-giver, in exchange for vacation trips to Thailand and the Dominican Republic. At the time, she was an aide to Arkady Dvorkovich, who was serving as deputy prime minister.

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