Moscow's Lefortovo District Court on February 12 ruled to extend the pretrial detention of Karina Tsurkan, an executive with energy holding company Inter RAO charged with spying, until at least mid-April, Russian media reported.
The hearing was held behind closed doors as Tsurkan's case is classified.
Tsurkan's lawyer, Ivan Pavlov, told Russian media that his client maintains she is innocent.
Tsurkan was arrested in June by Russia’s main security agency, the FSB, and charged with spying for an unnamed foreign country.
Tsurkan’s profile on the Inter RAO website identified her as the head of the company's trading division.
At the time of her arrest, the Kommersant newspaper said Tsurkan oversaw electricity trades in parts of Eastern Europe, including Moldova.
The paper also cited unnamed sources as saying Tsurkan had links to a businessman tied to Romanian intelligence.
Interfax, meanwhile, suggested that a raid on the offices of a deputy Russian energy minister may be linked to Tsurkan’s arrest.
Tsurkan’s profile on the company website said she was a graduate of a Moldovan university, and in 2010-11 worked in the company’s division overseeing Moldova, Ukraine, and Romania.
