Paul Whelan was in Moscow for friend’s wedding when he was held for spying, says brother

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The American man who was detained in Russia on accusations of being a spy is a retired marine who was visiting Moscow to attend a wedding, according to his family.

Russia detains American in Moscow on suspicion of spying Read more

In a statement released on Tuesday morning, the family of Paul Whelan said the last time anyone had contact with him was on 28 December, the night before the wedding he was due to attend.

Russia’s domestic security service announced on Monday that it had arrested an American on Friday who was “carrying out an act of espionage”. A statement in Russian did not provide further details about the individual who was detained or information about the alleged spying, but his name appeared to transliterate as Paul Whelan.

The US state department declined to comment on whether the detained individual was a former marine, but in response to a question from the Guardian it said it was aware that a US citizen had been detained, had been notified of his detention by the Russian ministry of foreign affairs, and said it was seeking access to the individual.

“Due to privacy considerations, we have no additional information to provide at this time,” the department said.

In an email to the Guardian, Whelan’s twin brother, David, said Whelan was attending the wedding of a fellow former marine, who was marrying a Russian woman.

Whelan’s family said he had been to Russia “numerous times”, as far back as 2007, and was currently working on a corporate security team for BorgWarner, which is listed online as a Michigan-based maker of automative industry components.

David Whelan said his brother had previously been to Russia as a visitor and for his work for Kelly Services, a management consultancy.

The Guardian could not immediately verify the accuracy of the family’s statement.

Whelan’s previous trips to Russia, his brother said, were only for short visits and he had limited Russian language abilities “other than to be able to get around”.

“This visit was entirely for pleasure, from what I understand,” his brother said.

The family said they had learned of Whelan’s arrest on Monday after reading the news reports.

“We noticed that he was not in communication on the 28th, which was very much out of character for him even when he was traveling,” the family said. “We are deeply concerned for his safety and wellbeing. His innocence is undoubted and we trust that his rights will be respected.”

A BorgWarner representative confirmed that Whelan was employed as the company’s global security director, responsible for overseeing security at the company’s facilities in Michigan and “other company locations around the world”.

It is not clear whether any US officials have seen Whelan since his arrest. The family said they had been in contact with their congressional representatives, the US embassy and the state epartment, where many officials were on furlough due to the US government shutdown.

The family said they believed a 72-hour window for the US government to be able to visit Whelan had already started and they had not been in contact with anyone who had seen or been in contact with Whelan since 5pm (Moscow time) on 28 December.

“We are hoping he will be able to return home soon,” the family said.

The wedding party had been staying at the Metropol hotel in Moscow.

Whelan’s arrest came just weeks after a Russian national named Maria Butina pleaded guilty to secretly acting as a Russian agent in the US. It is not clear whether Whelan’s detention was an attempt to retaliate for Butina’s arrest, which is a sore point in US-Russian relations.