Russia detains Bonduelle employee on suspicion of obtaining a state secret

Bonduelle SA

29/08/2022 18:30

Aug 29 (Reuters) - A Moscow court has sent a Russian citizen
who works for French company Bonduelle to a pre-trial detention
centre on suspicion of unlawfully obtaining information
constituting a state secret, the TASS news agency reported on
Monday.
    Citing a source in the Russian law enforcement services,
TASS said the employee Dmitry Blinov works for Bonduelle-Kuban
LLC – an operation in Russia's southern region of Krasnodar of 
plant-based food producer Bonduelle  BOND.PA . It said he will
be held in the detention centre until Sept. 25.
    Bonduelle in France confirmed to Reuters that it employed
Blinov and said the company was willing to help the judicial
authorities with their investigation, but that its activities
were entirely unrelated to state secrets. 
    "The company would like to point out that its activities in
Russia are in no way linked to the use of information that would
constitute a state secret," Bonduelle said.
    Bonduelle https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/food-producer-bonduelle-hit-by-russian-invasion-ukraine-2022-03-04/
 mainly sells canned and frozen vegetables in Russia. It owns
three processing plants and employs about 800 people in the
country.
    TASS said Blinov would face up to eight years in prison if
found guilty, but said he would have a right to appeal.
    The Moscow court and Bonduelle's offices in Moscow and
Krasnodar did not answer Reuters' phone calls.

 (Reporting by Reuters; editing by Barbara Lewis)