Court finds Anatoly Privalov guilty of activities against the Republic of Estonia

TALLINN - On Thursday, the Harju County Court found Israeli citizen Anatoly Privalov, 50, guilty of collecting and transmitting information to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) and sentenced him to six years and six months in prison.

Time served in pre-trial detention will be deducted from his sentence. The prison term is considered to have begun on October 12 of last year, the day he was detained.

According to the charges filed by the Prosecutor's Office, Privalov had been involved in activities against Estonia's security in cooperation with FSB officers since 2016. He transmitted requested information and resources to support intelligence activities to FSB officers, both through communication channels and during meetings in Russia.

For instance, he supplied the FSB with information concerning the activities of Estonian and allied law enforcement, intelligence, and security agencies, as well as details about national defense installations. He also provided information on individuals who could potentially be recruited for clandestine collaboration in Russia's interests.

The Narva resident was also involved in acts of sabotage and migration attacks. In 2025, in cooperation with the FSB, he attempted to orchestrate the escape to Russia of Andrei Shevlyakov, who was detained in Estonia and wanted by the FBI in a criminal investigation.

"Andrei Shevlyakov was under electronic surveillance, yet this did not stop Anatoly Privalov from planning his escape in collaboration with the FSB. The attempt was unsuccessful, but the incident demonstrates that electronic surveillance is insufficient for security-related offenses," said State Prosecutor in Charge Taavi Pern.

"Russia's special services use recruited collaborators in hostile activities not just against Estonia, but against the West more broadly. We are seeing from these attacks and plots that hostile influence operations are becoming more violent," explained Taavi Narits, deputy director general of the Estonian Internal Security Service.

He identified longer stays in or travel to Russia as a primary risk. "Regardless of nationality or citizenship, it is primarily people who need to travel to Russia for various reasons who are exploited. Russia's special services recruit collaborators at the border and on their territory, using them against Estonia and the wider West. The result, as in all previous cases, is ending up behind prison walls," Narits acknowledged.

"The deterrence from our joint counter-intelligence efforts is credible-recruited agents perceive the risk of getting caught as high, and this significantly hampers the execution of their malicious plans," he remarked.

According to the indictment, Privalov's activities continued until his arrest in 2025.

The court reviewed the criminal case file and concluded that the offenses described in the plea agreement were proven and that the legal assessment of his actions in the agreement was correct. The court also agreed with the type and length of the sentence, finding it proportionate to the gravity of the defendant's guilt.

Privalov was also ordered to pay 2,215 euros in procedural costs and as a compulsory monetary penalty.