Canadian Officer Accused of Espionage for Russia Remains Under Arrest

04.04.2012 Canadian court denied bailment of naval intelligence officer Jeffrey Delisle charged of espionage, reports Toronto Star.

As was earlier reported, the officer could supply Russia with information comparable to volume of WikiLeaks disclosures.

Canadian law enforcement authorities arrested Lt. Jeffrey Delisle (Royal Canadian Navy) on Jan 16 on suspicion of espionage for "foreign state". Russia could be interested in such information.

According to Wall Street Journal, it is expected that Halifax County Court would consider release of the 40-year old officer on bail.

Reportedly, the information leakage was primarily about so-called "Five Eyes" system which is agreement on joint electronic intelligence tied between the US, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

This system is also known as Echelon. According to American sources, the White House discussed the incident and expressed serious concern over the scope of leakage.

Recall that Canadian naval officer Jeffrey Paul Delisle was arrested in Halifax, Nova Scotia in Jan 2012 on suspicion of supplying Russia with classified information. Delisle is charged of 5-year long espionage for "foreign state". According to Commissioner of Royal Canadian Mounted Police Bob Paulson, investigation has shown that Canada is not protected from foreign threats trying to undermine Canadian sovereignty.

As was reported, Delisle was involved in data leakage since July 2007 till Jan 2012. Experts say the information he spied was possibly related to naval forces of Canada and its NATO allies.

Maximum penalty for Delisle can be life imprisonment.