Russia and US conduct prisoner swap in Abu Dhabi

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that Russia and the US conducted a prisoner exchange in Abu Dhabi on April 10, citing an unnamed CIA official.

According to the report, Moscow released Ksenia Karelina, a US and Russian citizen sentenced to 12 years in prison for treason.

The US, in turn, released Artur Petrov, who holds both Russian and German citizenship.

Petrov was accused of circumventing sanctions by supplying US-made microelectronic products to Russia.

Karelina’s lawyer, Mikhail Mushailov, confirmed to RBC that his client had been released and had contacted her family.

The decision regarding Karelina was made last August. The young woman was detained last February in Yekaterinburg, where she had come from Los Angeles to visit relatives.

The Federal Security Service (FSB) stated that Karelina was accused of providing financial assistance to the Ukrainian army.

According to the FSB, Karelina “on her own initiative carried out activities to collect funds for the benefit of one of the Ukrainian organizations” from February 2022, and these funds were later used for the needs of the Ukrainian army. The donation in question was stated to be $51.8.

Meanwhile, Artur Petrov was detained in Southern Cyprus in August 2023 at the request of the US.

According to the US Department of Justice, Petrov purchased microelectronic products from the US through shell companies and sent them to Russia.

Petrov faced 11 charges, including smuggling, export control violations, and money laundering.

According to WSJ, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and an unnamed senior intelligence official from the Russian side participated in the negotiations.

Ratcliffe was present at the Abu Dhabi Airport where the exchange took place.

Ratcliffe stated, “Today, President Trump brought home another US citizen who was illegally detained in Russia. I am proud of the CIA personnel who worked tirelessly, and we are grateful to the UAE government.”

According to WSJ, Ratcliffe had several phone conversations with FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov and Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergey Naryshkin after being appointed as CIA Director.

The report stated that Bortnikov was involved in the negotiations between Russia and the West last summer, which resulted in a comprehensive prisoner exchange that also led to the release of WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich.

This was the second prisoner exchange between Moscow and Washington since Donald Trump returned to the White House.

In mid-February, Alexander Vinnik, who was detained in the US for allegedly laundering between $4 billion and $9 billion through the BTC-e exchange, was extradited to Russia.

Vinnik had admitted to some of the charges and made a deal with the prosecution; his sentence was expected to be handed down in the summer of 2025, but the case was later closed.

In Russia, Vinnik was charged in absentia in 2018 with cyber fraud involving 750 million rubles. Moscow was seeking Vinnik’s extradition.

In return, Russia released Marc Fogel, an American teacher and former US Embassy employee, who was charged with drug trafficking and possession.

Fogel argued that the marijuana he brought with him was for medical purposes (to relieve pain after spinal surgery) and that he had a doctor’s prescription.

Fogel was sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2022.