Ruslan Stoyanov, head of Kaspersky Lab`s computer incidents investigations unit, Sergey Mikhailov, a senior Russian FSB officer, and his deputy Dmitry Dokuchayev are accused of "treason in favor of the US,” lawyer Ivan Pavlov said on Wednesday, as cited by Interfax.
Pavlov chose not to disclose which of the defendants he represents, adding, however, that his client denies all charges.
The charges against the defendants do not imply they were cooperating with the CIA, Pavlov added. "There is no mention of the CIA at all. [The entity] in question is the US, not the CIA," he stressed, according to TASS.
The lawyer maintained the court files included no mention of Vladimir Anikeev, an alleged leader of `Shaltai Boltai`, a hacking group that previously leaked emails from top Russian officials, including Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
The hacking group`s name was in the news earlier in January, when Russian media reports linked Mikhailov and Dokuchayev to `Shaltai Boltai`. In an unsourced article last Wednesday, Rosbalt newspaper claimed Mikhailov`s unit was ordered in 2016 to work with the group.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told RIA Novosti on Wednesday the treason charges do not relate to the US suspicions of Russia being behind the alleged cyberattacks on the 2016 presidential elections. He added that President Vladimir Putin is receiving regular updates on the current investigation.
/RT/
Moscow charges ex-FSB & Kaspersky staff with treason ‘in interests of US’ – lawyer
01 February 2017
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Two senior FSB officers and a high-level manager of Russia`s leading cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab are facing official charges of treason in the interests of the US, a lawyer representing one of the defendants has confirmed to Interfax.
