British Man Threatened With Imprisonment For Offering Personal Information To The Minister Of Defense To Russian Intelligence

Illustration. (Pixabay/peterbwiberg)

JAKARTA - A British man who offered former defense minister Grant Shapps personal information to Russian intelligence for money on Tuesday 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 undercover British officers, prosecutors said.

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

Phillips testified in his trial at Courtroom Crown, claiming he tried to "trade and uncover foreign agents", reported Reuters July 22.

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

At the beginning of his trial, prosecutor Jocelyn Ledward said Phillips offered to help Russian intelligence "not always for ideological reasons or because he sympathizes with the Russian state".

Ledward said Phillips had tried to do an "easy job and, maybe, withdraw or excite for the sake of easy money".

Phillips was approached in March 2024 by Russian agents claiming to be Sasha and Dima. They asked Phillips to keep a file in a clean USB, explain what he could offer and why, then hide it in a bicycle parked on a road in London.

"He then met Dima in May 2024, and said he knew the home address, phone number, and where the Shapps private plane was stored because he had visited Shapps' house," said Ledward.

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