The 12th suspect, 23-year-old Alexey Karetnikov who just emerged this week, had worked for the world’s largest software company, Microsoft. But he did not commit any harm while working there.<\/p>\n
Karetnikov had been employed as an entry-level software tester, a Microsoft spokesman told the German Press Agency dpa on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
“We reviewed his activities and are confident he did not compromise Microsoft software, our internal network resources, or our customers,” the spokesman said.<\/p>\n
Karetnikov worked for nine months at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington. US media reported that he caught the eye of officials the moment he entered the country in October.<\/p>\n
On Friday, the US and Russia swapped 14 spies in Vienna, including 10 who had pleaded guilty to charges that they failed to register as a foreign agent with the US government. Those ten spies had been under observation for up to a decade by the FBI.<\/p>\n
The four prisoners released by the Russians had to plead guilty as a condition for their being pardoned by the Russian government.<\/p>\n
No charges were brought against Karetnikov, described by officials to CNN as a “little fish.” But he was to be deported, according to media reports.<\/p>\n
Another suspect in the US-based spy ring has disappeared after fleeing to Cyprus, where he was arrested but released on bail.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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