The 74-year-old Russian scientist charged with treason allegedly passed secret information to a Belgian institute for fluid dynamics

Viktor Kudryavtsev, the 74-year-old Russian scientist charged with treason, allegedly passed secret information to the Belgian von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics, according to a report filed by the Federal Security Service.

Evgeny Smirnov, the “Team 29” lawyer who is defending Kudryavtsev, told the magazine RBC on Thursday, August 2, that the FSB report is the only evidence against his client. The Belgian institute also had an agreement with the Central Research Institute of Mechanical Engineering (TsNIIMash), where Kudryavtsev worked. According to Smirnov, federal agents have questioned several dozen people in the case, including Vladimir Lapygin (Kudryavtsev’s former supervisor), who was previously convicted of treason in a separate investigation.

Police detained Viktor Kudryavtsev on July 20. Journalists initially reported that he was suspected of sharing secret intelligence about Russia’s hypersonic weapons program with operatives in a NATO country.