The company asked
that any further inquiries regarding this issue be directed to the U.S. State
Department.
NEW YORK, January 1.
/TASS/. US citizen Paul Whelan detained in Moscow on suspicion of espionage
works for BorgWarner, a company that is based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, and is
the supplier of auto parts, the company announced on its website on Tuesday.
"BorgWarner Inc.
learned of the arrest of our employee Paul Whelan by the Russian Federal
Security Service (FSB) from news reports published Dec. 31, 2018. We can
confirm that Mr. Whelan currently serves as the company’s director, global
security. He is responsible for overseeing security at our facilities in Auburn
Hills, Michigan and at other company locations around the world," the
statement says.
BorgWarner has been
in contact with the relevant US federal authorities in the wake of this
situation, the statement says.
"We ask that any
further inquiries regarding this issue be directed to the U.S. State
Department," the statement says.
Russia’s Federal
Security Service reported on Monday that it had detained US citizen Paul Whelan
in Moscow on suspicion of espionage.
"On December 28,
2018 staff members of the Russian Federal Security Service detained US citizen
Paul Whelan in Moscow while on a spy mission," the FSB press office said.
A criminal
investigation into espionage has been launched against the US citizen.
If found guilty, he
faces between 10 and 20 years in jail.
Source: ITAR-TASS
02-01-2019
