Washington, 15 November 1996 (RFE/RL) -- The U.S. government yesterday dropped all charges against former KGB agent Vladimir Galkin.
The 50-year-old Galkin was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on October 29 at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York when he arrived as part of a Moscow business delegation. He was charged with having attempted to gather classified information on U.S. national defense a number of years ago.
A Justice Department statement dismissing the criminal complaint was read in federal court in Worcester, Massachusetts, where Galkin appeared yesterday.
According to the statement, the charges were dropped largely at the request of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
The Associated Press quotes two unidentified Justice Department sources as saying the CIA decided against prosecution because of fear of Russian retaliation against U.S. agents.