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Posted: 2024-09-20 01:30:09

Twelve devices have been seized by authorities in an alleged Russian spy case with a "significant volume" of evidence.

Lawyers appeared at Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday on behalf of 40-year-old Kira Korolev and her 62-year-old husband, Igor.

The Russian-born couple were arrested in July at their home in the Brisbane suburb of Everton Park. They were charged with preparing for an espionage offence, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years imprisonment.

Ms Korolev worked as an information systems technician with the Australian army.

The Australian Federal Police allege Ms Korolev travelled to Russia while on leave with the Australian Defence Force and instructed her husband to log into her work account to send sensitive material so that it could be shared with Russian authorities.

The Korolevs had been in Australia for more than a decade.

Composite of a man and woman smiling.

The Korolevs had been in Australia for more than a decade. (Youtube/Facebook)

The couple did not appear via video link and instead had their lawyers represent them. No application for bail was heard.

The prosecutor Ellie McDonald requested an adjournment, noting there was a "significant volume" of evidence to work through and that 12 devices had been seized.

The magistrate Peter Saggers asked for a full brief of evidence to be finalised by December 13.

There is a suppression order in place for five names related to the case. Counsel for the Australian Federal Police Dyan Kerr previously told the court that suppressing those identities was a "matter of national security".

The case will return to the Brisbane Magistrates Court at 9am on December 20.

The ABC has reported the Russian couple "mostly kept to themselves" but Ms Korolev had a social media presence including lifestyle and travel videos, which documented her trips across Australia.

Ms Korolev was also known in Perth as a well-trained actor and Moscow theatre director. The ABC confirmed that in the 2010s, she was an international student in the city and used the surname Karavaytseva.

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