Russian citizenship of Alexander Posobilov, a defendant in a high-profile illegal US technology export case, was one of the reasons why a US court denied him bail, Russia’s vice consul in Houston Stanislav Abramov said.
The court assumed that Posobilov may flee the United States because he has both US and Russian passports, Abramov said.
Houston court on Friday denied bail to Posobilov, ruling to keep him in custody, defense lawyer Alexei Tarasov said earlier.
Tarasov also said Svetalina Zagon, not a Russian citizen, was released on bail at the beginning of hearings. Abramov said Zagon was a US national.
Eight members of an alleged secret Russian military procurement network were arrested earlier this week in Houston. They include four Russian nationals: Alexander Fishenko, Posobilov, Viktoria Klebanova and Anastasia Diatlova. Three suspects are still at large and believed to be outside the United States.
The FBI in New York said on Wednesday that 11 suspects had been charged with illegally exporting military technology to Russia, namely microelectronic components destined for Russia's intelligence and military agencies.
The main suspect, described as an "agent of the Russian government," was named as 46 year-old Fishenko, who heads an American company called Arc Electronics, and a Moscow-registered company called Apex System.
The four accused Russians deny any wrongdoing, Tarasov earlier told RIA Novosti. Hearings on whether to keep in custody other suspects will continue on Tuesday and Wednesday next week.
