Anna Chapman: Difference between revisions
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==Revocation of UK citizenship== |
==Revocation of UK citizenship== |
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According to a statement from her US lawyer and media reports, Chapman presently wishes to move to the UK.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/accused-russian-spy-stunner-anna-chapman-fly-home/story?id=11116194 |title=Accused Russian Spy Stunner Anna Chapman to Fly Home Today, Her Attorney Says |publisher=ABC News |author=Brian Ross, Anna Schecter and Megan Chuchmach |date=July 8, 2010 |accessdate=2010-07-13}}</ref> As a result, the [[Home Office]] |
According to a statement from her US lawyer and media reports, Chapman presently wishes to move to the UK.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/accused-russian-spy-stunner-anna-chapman-fly-home/story?id=11116194 |title=Accused Russian Spy Stunner Anna Chapman to Fly Home Today, Her Attorney Says |publisher=ABC News |author=Brian Ross, Anna Schecter and Megan Chuchmach |date=July 8, 2010 |accessdate=2010-07-13}}</ref> As a result, the [[Home Office]] investigated the use of special powers by the British [[Home Secretary]] to deprive Chapman of her British citizenship,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/us_and_canada/10580301.stm |title=Spies swapped in Vienna are flown to Russia and the US |publisher=BBC News |date=July 08, 2010 |accessdate=2010-07-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Russian-Spies-Anna-Chapmans-British-Citizenship-Reconsidered/Article/201007215661852?lpos=World_News_Top_Stories_Header_2&lid=ARTICLE_15661852_Russian_Spies%3A_Anna_Chapmans_British_Citizenship_Reconsidered |title=Spy's UK Citizenship Under Consideration |publisher=Sky News Online |author=Adam Arnold and Tom Bonnett |date=July 10, 2010 |accessdate=2010-07-13}}</ref> only used for six people since their introduction in 2002, in part to make it easier to deport radical [[Muslim]] cleric [[Abu Hamza al Masri]].<ref name=BBC10620352/> On July 13th, the Home Office issued legal papers revoking her citizenship. Steps may also be taken to exclude Chapman, meaning she could not travel to the UK.<ref name=BBC10620352>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/10620352.stm |title=Russian spy Anna Chapman is stripped of UK citizenship |publisher=BBC News |date=July 13, 2010 |accessdate=2010-07-13}}</ref> |
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== Notes == |
== Notes == |
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Revision as of 23:22, 13 July 2010
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 | This article is about a person involved in a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The last updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. (July 2010) |
Anna Chapman | |
|---|---|
| Born | Anna Kushchenko 23 February 1982 |
| Other names | Anna Kushchenko Anna Chapman Anya Kuschenko Anya Chapman |
| Occupation(s) | Businesswoman Independent Sales Consultant Russian Spy |
| Known for | Involvement with Russian Illegals Program |
| Spouse | Alex Chapman (divorced) |
| Parent(s) | Irina Kushchenko Vasily Kushchenko |
| Notes | |
Arrested on 27 June 2010 | |
Anna Chapman (born February 23, 1982) is a Russian business woman, who while living in New York, United States admitted to working for an Illegals Program spy ring under the SVR (Sluzhba Vneshney Razvedki), Russian intelligence.[1][2] She was arrested, along with nine others, on June 27, 2010. Chapman pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the U.S. Attorney General, and was deported back to Russia on July 8, 2010. On July 13, 2010, her British citizenship was revoked.[3]
Biography
| External image | |
|---|---|
 School years of Anna Kushchenko (in the center) |
Born Anna Kushchenko in Volgograd, according to US authorities,[4] her father was employed in the Russian embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. According to her British ex-husband, her father was also a senior KGB official, although this is unsubstantiated.[5] She attended an elite boarding school and earned a masters degree in economics from the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia in Moscow. She later worked in London at NetJets, Barclays Bank and allegedly at a few other companies for brief periods.[5]
In 2001, at an underground rave party in London's Docklands, she met Alex Chapman, then 21, the son of a British business executive, whom she married shortly thereafter in Moscow. They divorced in 2005, but remain in contact. Interviews with Alex Chapman provide the bulk of the information about Anna Chapman, particularly the nature of her dealings in New York.[6]
Anna is also reported to have been dating Michel Bittan, a prominent New York restaurant owner, at the time of her arrest.[7]
Anna Chapman's LinkedIn social networking site profile identified her as CEO of Property Finder Ltd., a website selling real estate internationally.[8]
Illegals Program and Arrest
Her part in the Illegals Program
The nature of Chapman's work with the Illegals Program is unclear to the public. Aside from her admission, and subsequent deportation, no concrete details have been provided of any spying activities. She is the only Russian arrested that did not use an assumed name.[9]
The only source of any information is her ex-husband, Alex, who engaged media agent Max Clifford to release his story to the world's media. Chapman was married to Anna in 2001, and by 2003–2004, he has stated that she became distant, falling in with a group of "secretive, well-connected Russian friends."[5] During this period, he has said that she would often go out with other Russians without inviting him along because they would only be speaking Russian. He has also stated that she seemed to have more access to money during this period, and often spoke of meeting influential people.[6] By 2005, the marriage had fallen apart and Anna went back to Russia in 2006. Shortly thereafter, her ex-husband has stated that she began seeing a rich American man, and moved to New York, where she started a real-estate business. Alex has stated that Anna continuously told him the enterprise was in the red for the first couple of years, and then suddenly in 2009, she had as many as 50 employees and a successful business.[6] Their contact was less frequent in the subsequent year, and Anna was arrested on June 27, 2010.
Arrest
Officials claimed Chapman worked with a network of others, until an undercover FBI agent attempted to draw her into a trap at a Manhattan coffee shop.[10] She was caught at a Starbucks accepting a fake US passport from the agent, who hoped she would forward it to another Russian spy.[11] However, Chapman merely handed the passport in at a local police station, and was arrested shortly after.[11] Her arrest spawned a wave of media attention into the case that expanded into her private life.[4]
International exchange
After being formally charged, Chapman and nine other detainees have been part of a spy swap deal between the US and Russia, the first of its kind in 24 years. The 10 Russian spies returned to Russia via a chartered jet that landed at Vienna International Airport, where the swap occurred on the morning of July 8.[12] The Russian jet returned to Moscow's Domodedovo airport, where after landing the 10 spies were kept away from local and international press.
Revocation of UK citizenship
According to a statement from her US lawyer and media reports, Chapman presently wishes to move to the UK.[13] As a result, the Home Office investigated the use of special powers by the British Home Secretary to deprive Chapman of her British citizenship,[14][15] only used for six people since their introduction in 2002, in part to make it easier to deport radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al Masri.[16] On July 13th, the Home Office issued legal papers revoking her citizenship. Steps may also be taken to exclude Chapman, meaning she could not travel to the UK.[16]
Notes
- ^ "10 alleged Russian secret agents arrested in US". Associated Press. 28 June 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
- ^ "Suspected Russian spies charged in US". BBC News. 29 June 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
- ^ "Russian spy UK citizenship revoked". Press Association. 13 July 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
- ^ a b Abcarian, Robin (30 June 2010). "Sultry red-head sensationalizes spy story". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c Lukas I. Alpert (July 05, 2010). "Russian spy babe's hot affair: Anna Chapman was kinky and 'great in bed,' says ex husband Alex". NYDailyNews.com. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b c Gordon Rayner and Andy Bloxham (July 02, 2010). "'Russia spy' Anna Chapman's husband: I thought I knew her". Telegraph. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Veronika Belenkaya, Sandra Ifraimova and Alison Gendar (July 01, 2010). "Accused Russian spy Anna Chapman was dating 60-year-old divorced dad Michel Bittan, friends say". Nydailynews.com. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Cristian Salazar and Tom Hays (30 June 2010). "Anna Chapman dubbed femme fatale of Russian spy case". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
{{cite web}}: Text "+Top+Stories%29" ignored (help) - ^ Daniel Bates (29 June 2010). "Red-headed femme fatale among 11 'Russian deep cover agents' accused of Cold War-style plot to spy on America". Mail Online. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
- ^ Edecio Martinez (30 June 2010). "Who is the Russian "Femme Fatale"?". CBS News. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
- ^ a b Veronika Belenkaya, Robert Sgobbo and Alison Gendar (29 June 2010). "Friends shocked Anna Chapman, accused Russian spy, threw away life of luxury". New York Daily News. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "'Russian spies' deported; some kids to stay". News.yahoo.com. Retrieved 10 July 2010.
- ^ Brian Ross, Anna Schecter and Megan Chuchmach (8 July 2010). "Accused Russian Spy Stunner Anna Chapman to Fly Home Today, Her Attorney Says". ABC News. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
- ^ "Spies swapped in Vienna are flown to Russia and the US". BBC News. July 08, 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Adam Arnold and Tom Bonnett (10 July 2010). "Spy's UK Citizenship Under Consideration". Sky News Online. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
- ^ a b "Russian spy Anna Chapman is stripped of UK citizenship". BBC News. 13 July 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
External links
- Plea agreement, United States v. Anna Chapman, no. 10 Cr. 598, (S.D.N.Y 8 July 2010)