Aeroflot executive arrested on suspicion of passing state secrets to Britain Business

A London-based executive from flagship Russian airline Aeroflot has reportedly been arrested by Russian security services on suspicion of passing state secrets to Britain.

TASS and RIA news agencies identified the executive as Dmitry Fedotkin, Reuters reported. He is said to deny any wrongdoing.

An anonymous Russian source is quoted by TASS and RIA as saying that Dmitry Fedotkin has passed on secrets about Russia’s social and political situation to MI6.

He would not have had access to state secrets related to aviation. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of high treason.

Records from Moscow’s Lefortovsky District Court show that he opened a state treason case against an individual named DA Fedotkin on Wednesday.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Mr. Fedotkin had been station manager of Aeroflot in Britain since October 2015 and was the national manager of the airline in the United Kingdom for almost three years previously.

Aeroflot said it had no information on the case, while the British Embassy in Moscow addressed questions to Russian authorities, Reuters reported.

The detention of soldiers, scientists and state employees suspected of disclosing state secrets is not unusual in Russia.

The Federal Security Service (FSB) arrested a serviceman and his brother in western Russia last month for allegedly passing state secrets to Estonia.

Mr Fedotkin’s announced detention comes as the UK is set to send its government prime minister to Moscow since 2017.

Relations have been frozen since the poisoning in March 2018 of ex-Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, allegedly by Russian agents.

Wendy Morton, a young foreign minister, is due to meet with Russia’s deputy foreign minister, continuing an annual tradition, although relations are not normalized.

Issues that should be discussed include the recent poisoning of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, who is still recovering in Germany, as well as efforts to tackle climate change.