Whelan Floor (Paul Whelan)

Whelan Floor (Paul Whelan)

Biography

2018: Detention on suspicion of espionage

On December 31, 2018 FSB Russia announced detention USA of the citizen Paul Whelan suspected of espionage. It worked in the recruiting company Kelly Services which has office in To Moscow and specializes in personnel recruitment including in the field of IT.

According to the twin the delayed David Whelan, his brother served in marines. By the beginning of 2019 he is in resignation. What he was engaged after service in, the relative did not report. To Russia the man arrived to a wedding. To whom exactly he came, is not specified, CNN tells.

David told that he unsuccessfully tried to phone to the brother since December 28, but communication with it was gone. Then the family contacted the American authorities. Whelan claims that the innocence of his brother does not raise any doubts, TASS reports.

According to data of sources of The Washington Post, the American since 2007 regularly visited Russia. At the same time, according to his acquaintances whom journalists of the newspaper contacted, he with great respect treated Russia and knew Russian at the initial level.^[1]

The Rosbalt edition with reference to the sources reports that Paul Whelan received the electronic medium with the list of all employees of one of secret Russian departments in the hotel room Metropol. In five minutes after transfer of the electronic medium to the hotel room the staff of FSB who delayed the suspect of espionage rushed. At survey detected a flash card with the classified information in it.

As observers note, security officers should check all base employed by recruiting company Kelly regarding recruitment for years of residency of Whelan. Considering that the American company in Moscow was engaged in employment on top positions in strategically important Russian companies.

The important direction of Kelly Services - students of leaders of universities (including MSU). With the best students of the top universities through the whole country the company carries out work since the first rate. The strategic partner of the company - St. Petersburg State University, and in it - the most elite faculty - the Higher school of management. Within cooperation with Kelly Services the best probationers also have an opportunity to continue training in the USA.

The recruiting company Kelly Services which security service was headed more than 5 years American by the spy (according to the investigation FSB) Whelan, was engaged in personnel recruitment in the company M.Video Gazpromneft Tele2 Yandex VTB, Sibur and practically in all leading IT companies. The American office paid special attention to IT specialists and engineers.

2020: 16 years of prison for espionage in Russia

On June 15, 2020 the Moscow City Court sentenced Paul Whelan to 16 years of colony strictly of the mode (charge asked 18 years of prison), having found the former American marine guilty of commission of the crime provided  Article 276 ("Espionage")  of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

As Paul Whelan's case carried a signature stamp "top secret", the sentence was disclosed by the judge Andrey Suvorov not completely: only input and resolutive parts of the judgment were public, Kommersant tells.

American Paul Whelan was sentenced in Russia to 16 years of colony for espionage

Watched closely process in the USA. To meetings repeatedly there came the ambassador, however directly in the courtroom he was never let.  Before announcement of a sentence the American said again that he does not consider himself the guilty person.

It is political court, dummy court. We proved the innocence, fabrications, now a task — to overcome telephone justice proved — Whelan (the quote by Interfax) said.

During detention Whelan regularly complained of the state of health, quality of medical care, will lock to call parents and threats from employees of the pre-trial detention center.

On May 27 Whelan addressed administration of the pre-trial detention center of Lefortovo with the complaint to noticeable deterioration in health because of exacerbation of inguinal hernia, right after survey by doctors of a medical medical unit it was sent to Scientific Research Institute of Emergency Medicine of N.V. Sklifosovsky. Next day early in the morning to Whelan performed surgery which he refused earlier. On May 29 Whelan was written out and returned back to the isolation center.

At the time of Paul Whelan's detention at it found the USB stick with the documents containing a state secret. According to his lawyer, Whelan did not know what was on the carrier, but considered that there personal data on its last trips to Russia were stored. According to unofficial data, on the USB stick there was a list of employees of one of the Russian security agencies.^[2] 

Notes