A retired Russian army major has been convicted of treason for being a spy for Georgia, Interfax reported.
Vladimir Klenkov was stripped of his rank Wednesday and sentenced to 12 years in a penal colony, North Caucasus military court spokeswoman Alyona Zhitnik said by phone Thursday.
Investigators found that Klenkov had passed classified information on Russia’s military forces in the south to Georgia in exchange for cash dating back to 2002, Zhitnik said.
The Klenkov case was the latest in a series of spy scandals on both sides that followed the armed conflict between Russia and Georgia in 2008. Last year, Georgia arrested six suspected Russian agents. In July, three journalists were detained on similar charges but then released. In October, two Russians were accused of being Georgian spies. Lieutenant David Aliyev and his mother, Irina Aliyeva, got 10 years and 8 years, respectively, Zhitnik said.