Ex-Marine unlikely spy
Security executive facing espionage charges wanted ‘penpals’ and didn’t act like a true spy, his social media contacts say.
A US corporate security executive and former US Marine who has been jailed in Moscow on spying charges has spent more than a decade cultivating friends and contacts in Russia, both virtual and real.
Paul Whelan sought out friends throughout the country, most often through a social networking site similar to Facebook and popular largely in Russia. Several told the Associated Press that the American never seemed sinister, merely someone who was interested in Russia and wanted to be penpals.
‘‘I know him as a friendly, polite, educated and easygoing guy,’’ said one of his contacts, who, like the other Russians interviewed for this story, spoke on condition of anonymity.
Whelan was arrested on December 28 while on a twoweek visit to Russia, and has been charged with espionage. The Russian government has so far given no details about the allegations against him, but a close look at his social media history suggests why he might have come to the attention of the Russian security services, regardless of his motives.
Whelan has collected dozens of contacts on the social media site, nearly all of them men, many of whom have at least some connection to the military.
His family says he was nothing more than a tourist.
Whelan, 48, could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of spying. He is also a citizen of Britain, Canada and Ireland, which brings international pressure on Russia from several fronts.
His family said he was in Moscow for the wedding of a fellow former US Marine, and had planned to travel to St Petersburg before flying home this weekend. Instead, he’s in Lefortovo, a notorious prison run by the KGB in Soviet times and still used for foreigners accused of spying.
Whelan has been visiting Russia since at least 2007, when he took advantage of a military programme for US Marines deployed in Iraq that gave them 15 days of leave and paid for the travel.
Even before then, he had begun developing a network of contacts throughout Russia. Some said they met him online in 2006 and became ‘‘penpals’’, trading practice in English for Russian. Whelan seemed fascinated with Russia and its culture, they said.
For nearly a decade, he has had an account on VKontakte, which means In Contact. Of his 58 friends at the time of his arrest, 54 were men. Many attended universities affiliated with the military, civil aviation or technical studies. Many share his interest in sports and firearms.
One of Whelan’s friends on VKontakte said he believed the arrest was a mistake because a true spy would never act as openly as he did. He said Whelan gave him his home address, and they exchanged Christmas cards.
Former CIA officers also have expressed doubts that Whelan was working for US intelligence. They noted that the CIA would be unlikely to use someone in Russia without diplomatic immunity and leave them vulnerable to arrest.
Whelan’s US Marines record was also likely to prevent US intelligence from hiring him. He began active duty with the corps in 2003 and was deployed twice to Iraq, rising to staff sergeant. But his military career ended with a court martial and bad conduct discharge in 2008, when he was convicted on charges that included attempted larceny and dereliction of duty.