Soviet Spying Suspect Held Without Bail : U.N. Worker Charged With Trying to Buy Classified Material

A Soviet employee of the United Nations was ordered held without bail today on an espionage charge after a federal prosecutor argued that the man was likely to flee the country if released.

Gennadiy Fedorovich Zakharov, a U.N. scientific affairs officer suspected of being a member of the Soviet secret police, was arrested Saturday night as he allegedly tried to buy classified information from an FBI informant at a subway station in the borough of Queens.

Zakharov, who does not have diplomatic immunity, was arraigned today before U.S. Magistrate Carol Amon in Brooklyn, who ordered him held on the espionage charge, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Believed to Be KGB Member

The charge was spelled out as “conspiracy to deliver or attempt to deliver defense documents to be used to the injury of the United States and to the advantage of a foreign nation.”

U.S. Atty. Andrew Maloney argued for withholding bail because of the charge’s seriousness and the fact that Zakharov is a Soviet citizen “believed by the FBI to be a member of the KGB.”

Maloney noted that Zakharov’s wife and daughter are out of the country and said he poses a “high risk of flight.”

According to the FBI, Zakharov first approached the FBI informant three years ago when the man was still a college student. However, the relationship did not become illegal until Saturday with an exchange of classified information, authorities said.

Notified FBI

The unidentified Queens College computer science student notified the FBI as soon as Zakharov approached him, authorities said.

Zakharov, assigned to the U.N. Center for Science and Technology for Development, told the student that he needed assistance in obtaining material on robotics and computer technology and for two years paid him thousands of dollars for unclassified information stolen from libraries and other sources, the FBI said.