WASHINGTON — The American man being held on espionage charges in Moscow also has British, Canadian and Irish citizenship, officials said on Friday, a status that could complicate the situation for Russia if it finds itself confronted by coordinated pressure from the West.

The man, Paul N. Whelan, could benefit from stepped-up efforts by multiple governments to secure his release, especially if the four countries coordinate their actions to secure his release or work to develop a collective punishment, like restricting visas for Russian business leaders.

New details also emerged on Friday about Mr. Whelan’s court-martial and bad conduct discharge from the Marine Corps. While deployed to Iraq in 2006, then-Staff Sgt. Whelan was found guilty of attempting to steal $10,410.59 and pass bad checks in an attempt to pay off debt.

Some former American officials said that by detaining a citizen of multiple countries, Russia may have miscalculated by picking not just a fight with the United States, but with a larger part of the international community — inviting the kind of multinational pressure that Moscow is most susceptible to.