British Man Sentenced For Offering Ministerial Information To Russian Agents For Money

JAKARTA - A British man who offered former Defense Minister Grant Shapps personal information to Russian intelligence for the sake of money was found guilty of assisting foreign intelligence services.

Howard Phillips offered Shapps' home address and phone number to two people he believed to be Russian agents, but they were actually British undercover officers, prosecutors said.

The 65-year-old has denied one charge of involvement in an act meant to materially assist foreign intelligence services, which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.

Phillips testified at his trial attenuation Crown Court, claiming he was trying to trap and uncover foreign agents.

However, Phillips was found guilty of the violation under the National Security Act by the jury on Tuesday, July 22. He will be sentenced in the future.

At the beginning of his trial, prosecutor Jocelyn Ledward said Phillips offered assistance to Russian intelligence not solely for ideological reasons or because he sympathized with the Russian state.

Ledward said Phillips tried to do an easy job for money.

Phillips was approached in March 2024 by people claiming to be Russian agents, who used the names Sasha and Dima, who asked Phillips to keep files in a clean USB, explain what he could offer and why, and hide them in a bicycle parked on a road in London.

He then met Dima in May 2024, and admitted that he knew the address of the house, phone number, and location of the Shapps private plane because he had visited Shapps' house.

Phillips also offered logistical support by booking hotels and buying mobile phones for foreign intelligence services, prosecutors said.