Robert Shonov worked for more than 25 years for the US consulate until 2021, when Moscow imposed restrictions on local staff working for foreign missions.

Afterward, he worked as a private contractor compiling press accounts from publicly accessible Russian media, according to the US state department.

He was arrested this year on suspicion of passing secret information about Russia’s war in Ukraine to the US in exchange for money.

According to the judgment published on the website of Valdivostok’s primorye court, 400,000 roubles (US$4,100) and an electronic device linked to the commission of the offence were seized.

In September 2023, Russia also expelled two US diplomats it accused of acting as liaison agents for Shonov.

According to Washington, Shonov had only been hired by the US consulate to carry out routine monitoring of freely accessible Russian media.

In recent years, several US citizens have been arrested and sentenced to long prison terms in Russia. Others are being held pending trial.

Washington, which supports Ukraine militarily and financially against Russia’s invasion, accuses Moscow of wanting to exchange them for Russians held in the US.

The US and Russia exchanged prisoners including The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in a landmark swap in August, but several US nationals and dual nationals remain in detention in Russia.