Members of the media stand outside the Brisbane Watch House, where a 40-year-old woman and her 62-year-old husband -- both holders of Russian passports -- appeared before a magistrate after being charged with "preparing for an espionage offence"
Members of the media stand outside the Brisbane Watch House in Brisbane on July 12, 2024, where a 40-year-old woman and her 62-year-old husband appeared before a magistrate after being charged with "preparing for an espionage offense". AFP

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has frozen the properties of two Russian-born Australians, Igor and Kira Korolev, who were charged last month on grounds of espionage.

The frozen assets include a Brisbane apartment belonging to the couple, who reportedly sabotaged sensitive Australian Defence Force (ADF) information to serve the interests of Russia, News.com reported.

The AFP also seized the couple's multiple bank accounts and Kira's superannuation funds accumulated during her time in the ADF.

Queensland Supreme Court issued legal orders under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, which prevented the Korolevs from selling, transferring, or otherwise dealing with their property valued at more than AU$550,000.

"The AFP has a two-pronged strategy for combating illegal activity... criminal prosecutions; and also confiscating wealth," AFP Acting Commander Amelia McDonald said about the arrests on Tuesday, Sky News reported.

Their case remains open, and an official hearing will be held on Sept. 20,

Their arrests in July mark the first use of foreign interference laws introduced in 2018, under which it was deemed a criminal offense to receive classified information without authorization, and definitions of sabotage, treason, treachery, and secrecy offenses were expanded.

The AFP alleged that when 40-year-old Kira was an army private in the ADF, her 62-year-old husband had accessed sensitive information to provide it to Russian authorities.

The police said Kira had traveled to Russia without the ADF's knowledge, during which time she asked her husband to access her work account and send information to her.

The married couple faces a single count of preparing for espionage, each punishable by up to 15 years in prison. The couple had reportedly been living in Australia for more than a decade before the alleged offense.