Last Updated: June 06, 2023, 01:39 IST
Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)
In 2001, Robert Hanssen pleaded guilty to 15 counts of espionage and conspiracy in exchange for the government not seeking the death penalty. (Reuters File Photo)
Hanssen, who was sentenced to life in prison for espionage in 2002, had received over $1.4 million in cash, diamonds, and funds deposited into Russian accounts
Former FBI agent Robert Hanssen, who confessed to spying for Moscow, has died at a maximum-security facility in the US state of Colorado.
His unresponsive body was discovered in a prison in the city of Florence on Monday morning, CNN reported.
“On Monday, June 5, 2023, at approximately 6:55 am, inmate Robert Hanssen was found unresponsive at the United States Penitentiary (USP) Florence ADMAX in Florence, Colorado,” the Federal Bureau of Prisons said in a statement.
“Responding staff immediately initiated life-saving measures. Staff requested emergency medical services (EMS) and life-saving efforts continued,” it added.
79-year-old Hanssen, who was sentenced to life in prison for espionage in 2002, had received over USD 1.4 million in cash, diamonds and funds deposited into Russian accounts.
At the time of his arrest, he resided with his wife and six children in a modest four-bedroom house in suburban Virginia.
Joining the FBI in 1976, Hanssen eventually became the most damaging spy in the US agency’s history due to his access to classified information.
Starting in 1985, he transmitted sensitive data to Russia and the former Soviet Union, using the alias “Ramon Garcia” in his correspondence.
As per the FBI, Hanssen compromised numerous human sources, counterintelligence techniques, investigations, classified government documents, and critical technical operations.
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