The alleged Russian spy Maria Butina, convicted by the US justice after pleading guilty to conspiracy against the US, was released Friday in Tallahassee, Florida after more than 15 months in prison and is expected to be deported in the next few hours to Moscow.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokeswoman Tamara Spicer confirmed Friday that Butina is in the custody of that federal agency awaiting deportation.
“ICE and the Detention and Deportation Unit (ERO) took custody of Maria Butina, 30, a citizen and national of Russia, after her release from federal prison today,” said Spicer.
The spokeswoman said that “for safety, ICE does not discuss specific removal arrangements before the successful repatriation of an individual.”
On December 13, Butina, 30, confessed her guilt of a conspiracy offense against the United States and agreed to cooperate with the US Justice.
The Russian spy was sentenced to 18 months in prison earlier this year and has been in custody since her arrest on July 15, 2018.
At the time, Russian President Vladimir Putin denied that Butina worked for Moscow and related the confession with threats received in prison.
According to the US Attorney’s Office, the alleged Russian spy wove a network of influential contacts in the U.S. to benefit the Kremlin in an operation that began in March 2015 and ended in July 2018, when she was arrested.
As part of the agreement reached with the prosecution, Butina provided information about her former partner, the advisor to the US Republican Party Paul Erickson.
Butina also acknowledged having established a relationship with an American, for which he used the Google translation tool, in order to present a “project proposal” for the 2016 elections.
The United States accepts that the US and foreign citizens work in favor of another country, as long as they are duly registered as agents, something Butina never did.
