Moscow says FBI arrested Russian a day after it detained ex-U.S. Marine

[rooster59]

Moscow says FBI arrested Russian a day after it detained ex-U.S. Marine

By Maxim Rodionov and Barbara Goldberg

 

Paul Whelan, a U.S. citizen detained in Russia for suspected spying, appears in a photo provided by the Whelan family on January 1, 2019. Courtesy Whelan Family/Handout via REUTERS

 

MOSCOW/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday the United States had detained a Russian citizen, a day after Moscow arrested the former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan on suspicion of spying.

 

Whelan was taken into custody by Russia's Federal Security Service on Dec. 28. His family have said he is innocent and that he was in Moscow to attend a wedding.

 

The ministry said the United States detained Russian citizen Dmitry Makarenko on Dec. 29 on the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth in the Pacific Ocean, and had transferred him to Florida.

 

"... Makarenko, born in 1979, has arrived on Saipan Island with his wife, underage children and elderly parents. He was detained by FBI personnel at the airport right after his arrival," the ministry said.

 

The U.S. Embassy in Moscow could not immediately be reached for comment. A State Department spokesman in Washington referred a request for comment to the Department of Justice, which did not immediately respond.

 

Papers filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida show Makarenko was accused in June 2017 by federal prosecutors of conspiring with another man, Vladimir Nevidomy, to export defence articles including night-vision scopes from the United States to Russia without U.S. approval.

 

Makarenko, who was listed as a resident of Vladivostok, was declared a fugitive from U.S. justice in Jan. 2018. Nevidomy, a resident of Hallandale Beach, Florida, pleaded guilty in June 2018 and was sentenced to 26 months in prison, the court papers showed.

 

The accusations from both sides could further complicate a strained relationship between Moscow and Washington, despite the professed desire of Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin to build a personal rapport.

 

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said this week that Washington had asked Moscow to explain Whelan's arrest and would demand his immediate return if it determined his detention is inappropriate.

 

Britain cautioned Russia on Friday that individuals should not be used as diplomatic pawns. Whelan also holds a British passport.

 

The Russian ministry said in its statement that Moscow diplomats had not been able to reach Makarenko in Florida and said Washington had yet to explain his detention.

 

Before Moscow gave details of Makarenko's detention, experts had speculated that Moscow could exchange Whelan for Russian nationals held by Washington.

 

Commenting on that possibility, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Saturday:

"I see no reasons to raise this issue in context of exchanges. We should undergo all the procedures needed in this situation," Interfax news agency quoted Ryabkov as saying.

 

Whelan's Toronto-based twin brother David Whelan told Reuters on Saturday that U.S. embassy officials met with his sibling on Wednesday and would visit him again next week.

 

"He seemed as well as can be expected in a Russian jail. He was missing a lot of personal necessities, like toilet paper, that aren't provided," David Whelan said in a telephone interview. "So the State Department has helped us set up an account ... so that he can buy the supplies that he needs."

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-01-06

 

 

[stevenl]

Wouldn't surprise me.

 

If China's detention of 2 Canadian's is connected to Huawei's arrest, then this must surely be connected as well. Unless someone thinks the US has the moral high ground?

[Credo]

6 minutes ago, stevenl said:

Wouldn't surprise me.

 

If China's detention of 2 Canadian's is connected to Huawei's arrest, then this must surely be connected as well. Unless someone thinks the US has the moral high ground?

I think the difference is that a civilian judge will be overseeing the charges.   A tit-for-tat won't work so well in that case.   

 

[Tug]

Are we regressing back to the 17th century 

[BestB]

Only Whelan holds 3 passports , US, UK and Canadian, has worked in Russia for a decade and speaks Russian and has an apartment over looking kremlin. 

 

So question is why only US demanding his release and only US officials visit him ? Why UK and Canada are rather passive about the issue

[stevenl]

3 hours ago, BestB said:

Only Whelan holds 3 passports , US, UK and Canadian, has worked in Russia for a decade and speaks Russian and has an apartment over looking kremlin. 

 

So question is why only US demanding his release and only US officials visit him ? Why UK and Canada are rather passive about the issue

Most likely this means he entered Russia on his US passport. Hence the US is involved, and not the other countries.

[Redline]

Ummm, that’s how it works ????????

[Srikcir]

7 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Moscow says FBI arrested Russian a day after it detained ex-U.S. Marine

If Putin was implying some kind of unfair quid pro quo related to Russia's arrest of Whelan, it doesn't work.

Russian citizen Makarenko was indicted, arrested and pleaded guilty in the US. Thereafter, he fled, an arrest warrant was issued and apprehended in US sovereign territory Northern Mariana Islands. 

[BestB]

48 minutes ago, stevenl said:

Most likely this means he entered Russia on his US passport. Hence the US is involved, and not the other countries.

Sure, only 2 other passports in his possession as well.

[stevenl]

7 minutes ago, BestB said:

Sure, only 2 other passports in his possession as well.

Doesn't matter, it is the passport he entered on.

[Ulic]

7 hours ago, BestB said:

Only Whelan holds 3 passports , US, UK and Canadian, has worked in Russia for a decade and speaks Russian and has an apartment over looking kremlin. 

 

So question is why only US demanding his release and only US officials visit him ? Why UK and Canada are rather passive about the issue

Apparently, he has an Irish passport as well. From what I have read all countries have protested his arrest but the US is the big swinging dick in the sandbox is taking point.

[Gillyflower]

7 hours ago, BestB said:

Only Whelan holds 3 passports , US, UK and Canadian, has worked in Russia for a decade and speaks Russian and has an apartment over looking kremlin. 

 

So question is why only US demanding his release and only US officials visit him ? Why UK and Canada are rather passive about the issue

He has 4 passports.  You forgot the Irish one.

[BestB]

18 minutes ago, Ulic said:

Apparently, he has an Irish passport as well. From what I have read all countries have protested his arrest but the US is the big swinging dick in the sandbox is taking point.

Is it even legal to be a a citizen of 4 countries? Dual nationalities are ok, but 4?

 

 

[GroveHillWanderer]

7 hours ago, BestB said:

Only Whelan holds 3 passports , US, UK and Canadian, has worked in Russia for a decade and speaks Russian and has an apartment over looking kremlin. 

 

So question is why only US demanding his release and only US officials visit him ? Why UK and Canada are rather passive about the issue

The question is based on an invalid premise. The US is not the only country requesting his release and seeking consular access. The UK, US and Ireland have all intervened with the Russians on his behalf and Canada may have done but will not confirm it one way or the other, "Due to the provisions of the Privacy Act ..."

[from the home of CC]

This Whelan seems to have the MO of a con man.

[BestB]

1 minute ago, GroveHillWanderer said:

The question is based on an invalid premise. The US is not the only country requesting his release and seeking consular access. The UK, US and Ireland have all intervened with the Russians on his behalf and Canada may have done but will not confirm it one way or the other, "Due to the provisions of the Privacy Act ..."

Have not seen any news reports on anyone else but US only , you have any links for other 3 countries seeking his release?

[GroveHillWanderer]

18 minutes ago, BestB said:

Is it even legal to be a a citizen of 4 countries? Dual nationalities are ok, but 4?

No country to the best of my knowledge, talks specifically about dual nationality (for instance, as stated on the US State Department website, US Law doesn't mention it) and even if they did, as far as I'm aware the same principles would apply to having multiple additional passports, as to having two.

[GroveHillWanderer]

14 minutes ago, BestB said:

Have not seen any news reports on anyone else but US only , you have any links for other 3 countries seeking his release?

Multiple embassies working to help Paul Whelan

 

"At least three countries have confirmed that they have requested consular access to Whelan: The U.S., Britain and Ireland say they're working to support him in detention and ensure his rights are respected."

 

As mentioned, the Canadians will not confirm or deny their involvement due to privacy laws.

[BestB]

1 minute ago, GroveHillWanderer said:

Multiple embassies working to help Paul Whelan

Thanks for that, will be interesting to know explanation for having 4 passports where all appear to be genuine.

 

I am certain UK can forget about having access to any information or even access to see him after UK's refusal to cooperate with Moscow previously

[GroveHillWanderer]

1 minute ago, BestB said:

Thanks for that, will be interesting to know explanation for having 4 passports where all appear to be genuine.

 

I am certain UK can forget about having access to any information or even access to see him after UK's refusal to cooperate with Moscow previously

It depends what you mean by the "explanation for having 4 passports." The legal explanation is that he is entitled to four passports because he qualifies for all of them according to the laws of these countries.

 

As to why he personally chose to get four passports, according to a family friend, "There was an ongoing competition with his sister to see who could get the most."

[BestB]

6 minutes ago, GroveHillWanderer said:

It depends what you mean by the "explanation for having 4 passports." The legal explanation is that he is entitled to four passports because he qualifies for all of them according to the laws of these countries.

 

As to why he personally chose to get four passports, according to a family friend, "There was an ongoing competition with his sister to see who could get the most."

Yup, sounds totally legit

[GroveHillWanderer]

8 hours ago, BestB said:

Only Whelan holds 3 passports , US, UK and Canadian, has worked in Russia for a decade and speaks Russian and has an apartment over looking kremlin. 

Not sure about that - at least according to his twin brother David, in an interview with the BBC, Paul Whelan does not speak Russian. I also can't find any info that say he has worked in Russia or has an apartment there, only that he had visited Russia several times over the past twelve years or so.

 

Do you have any links supporting those assertions?

[BestB]

Just now, GroveHillWanderer said:

Not sure about that - at least according to his twin brother David, in an interview with the BBC, Paul Whelan does not speak Russian. I also can't find any info that say he has worked in Russia or has an apartment there, only that he had visited Russia several times over the past twelve years or so.

 

Do you have any links supporting those assertions?

https://www.rt.com/news/448101-whelan-us-uk-spy-russia/

[GroveHillWanderer]

4 minutes ago, BestB said:

https://www.rt.com/news/448101-whelan-us-uk-spy-russia/

That says nothing about him living there for ten years or having an apartment overlooking the Kremlin.

 

It does talk about him 'reportedly' having a basic command of Russian but that's hardly official confirmation and doesn't necessarily mean he can speak it. I have a basic knowledge of Russian (took it at 'O' level in England many moons ago) but I wouldn't say I speak it. 

 

[BestB]

5 minutes ago, GroveHillWanderer said:

That says nothing about him living there for ten years or having an apartment overlooking the Kremlin.

 

It does talk about him 'reportedly' having a basic command of Russian but that's hardly official confirmation and doesn't necessarily mean he can speak it. I have a basic knowledge of Russian (took it at 'O' level in England many moons ago) but I wouldn't say I speak it. 

 

It says he has profile on Russian social sites. I am certain I read he lived or worked on/off for 10 years, since 2007 or something like that. 

Will try to find previous articles later, now on the phone is hard