Paul Whelan: US to demand immediate return of man detained in Moscow if spying allegations are false

Russia says it has granted US consular access to Mr Whelan who was arrested last week

(Courtesy of family)

Russia has said it has granted US officials access to the American held in Moscow on spying accusations as Mike Pompeo said Washington will demand his immediate return if the allegations are unfounded.

Paul Whelan was arrested on 28 December. In announcing the arrest three days later, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said he was caught “during an espionage operation,” but it gave no details.

Whelan, 48, who is head of global security for a Michigan-based auto parts supplier, was in the city to attend a wedding when he suddenly disappeared, his brother David Whelan has said.

Mr Pompeo, the US secretary of state, was speaking in Brazil where he attended the inauguration of new president Jair Bolsonaro. He said Washington has “made clear to the Russians our expectation that we will learn more about the charges and come to understand what it is he's been accused of and if the detention is not appropriate we will demand his immediate return”.

Russia granted consular access to Mr Whelan on Wednesday Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

David Whelan said the family was told by the US embassy in Moscow earlier in the week that they have not been able to speak to Paul Whelan.

Mr Whelan said he has no idea why his brother, a retired Marine who had done multiple tours in Iraq, was targeted by the Russian security services.

Paul Whelan had travelled to Russia in the past for work and to visit friends he had met on social networks, his brother said.

“I don't think there's any chance that he's a spy,” David Whelan told CNN.

The Marine Corps released Mr Whelan's military record on Wednesday, with it showing he was convicted in a 2008 court-martial of charges related to larceny.

Mr Whelan joined the Marine Reserves in 1994 and rose to the rank of staff sergeant in 2004. Mr Whelan was an administrative clerk and administrative chief and deployed for the war against Iraq for several months in 2004 and 2006.

He was convicted at a special court-martial in January 2008 and given a bad-conduct discharge in December 2008 at the rank of private. Details of the larceny charges were not released.

Daniel Hoffman, a former CIA Moscow station chief, told Reuters it was “possible, even likely” that Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered Mr Whelan’s arrest to set up an exchange for Russian citizen Maria Butina.

Ms Butina pleaded guilty last month to acting as an agent of the Russian state tasked with infiltrating US conservative groups to try and influence US policy towards Moscow.

Mr Putin's aim was “to make us feel some pain and his family to feel some pain. That's [Moscow’s] pressure point,” Mr Hoffman said.

David Whelan said the family is “deeply concerned for [Paul's] safety and well-being.”

Mr Whelan, said in a statement released on Tuesday via Twitter that his brother's “innocence is undoubted and we trust that his rights will be respected.”

Spying charges carry a prison sentence of up to 20 years in Russia.

Associated Press contributed to this report