Russian couple in Slovenia is sentenced to 19 months in prison for spying, released on time served

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) — A Russian couple on Wednesday was sentenced in the Slovenian capital to 19 months in prison each, after pleading guilty to spying charges. The husband and wife were released on time served and were ordered to leave the country.

The Ljubljana court sentenced them for espionage and using fake documents to register their firms. The couple was also banned from returning to Slovenia for five years.

The two — who posed as Argentine citizens — settled in Slovenia in 2017. The husband, who used the name Ludwig Gisch, ran a startup IT company. The wife, who had fake documents in the name of Maria Rosa Mayer Muños, had an online art gallery. Their actual names are Artem Viktorovich Dultsev and Anna Valerevna Dultseva, according to media reports.

The couple reportedly used the Slovenian capital as their base to travel to neighboring NATO and EU member states, relay orders from Moscow and bring cash to other Russian sleeper agents. They were arrested in 2022.

Local media reports said they were operatives of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) which recruits spies, who pose as ordinary citizens in Western countries.

They have two children who attended an international school in Ljubljana. Their trial was not open to the public.