Russia’s main domestic intelligence agency arrested Khavana on charges of treason, accusing her of collecting money for the Ukrainian military.
US Russian dual national Ksenia Khavana has been sentenced to 12 years in prison on a treason conviction, reports said on Thursday. Russia’s main domestic intelligence agency arrested Khavana on charges of treason, accusing her of collecting money for the Ukrainian military.
The Federal Security Service said in a statement on Tuesday that the Los Angeles resident was arrested in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg, about 1,100 miles (1,770 kilometers) east of Moscow.
She had returned to Russia to visit family, according to an Associated Press report.
Russian news outlet Mediazona identified her as Ksenia Karelina, her original name, and mentioned that she became a US citizen after marrying an American.
Isabella Koretz, who owns Ciel Spa at the SLS Beverly Hills, where Khavana has worked for eight years, told The Associated Press that Khavana, a ballet dancer, came to the US to study at the University of Maryland in Baltimore before moving to Los Angeles.
Koretz said that Khavana is divorced and has no family in the US. However, Koretz has grown close to Khavana over the years and considers her “like family.”
Koretz shared that Khavana tried to visit her family in Russia at least once a year, usually around Christmas and New Year’s. This year, Khavana traveled to Russia from Istanbul in early January for a two-week trip to see her 90-year-old grandmother, parents, and younger sister.
Koretz became worried when Khavana stopped responding to her messages and calls after entering Russia. She said she started to panic when Khavana didn’t return as planned in mid-January.
“She’s like an angel,” Koretz said. “You have to understand, she wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
Russia’s Federal Security Service alleges that Khavana had been “proactively” raising funds for a Ukrainian organisation since February 2022. Russia’s Federal Security Service says the money was “subsequently used to purchase tactical medicine, equipment, weapons and ammunition by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.”
The agency also accused her of taking part in “public actions” in the US in support of Kyiv, however, it did not provide further details about the allegations.
Koretz said Khavana actually was collecting funds for humanitarian aid and had made a donation to Razom for Ukraine, a US-based nonprofit that says it provides medical kits and disaster relief to those affected by Russia’s invasion of the country.
“We’re talking about diapers and formula, that’s what she was collecting money for,” the AP report quoted Koretz as saying. “We’re not talking about money for weapons.”
In its own statement Tuesday, the nonprofit’s CEO said she was appalled by media reports of the arrest but did not name Khavana or confirm whether the woman had previously donated to the charity.
The organisation, in an email to The Associated Press, said that it does not disclose the identities of its donors to protect their privacy.