THE MAN WHO ALMOST DESTROYED THE FBI: America's Most Guarded Secrets Leaked to the Russians for 15 YEARS, Gambled with Colleagues' Lives, and Became a SYMBOL OF TREASON
Robert Philip Hansen - FBI agent by day, double agent by night. At first glance, he was an exemplary employee, dedicated to his oath to protect the law and the security of his country. However, for decades he secretly worked for the Russians, thus becoming a symbol of one of the most spectacular betrayals in the history of American counterintelligence. His activities endangered national security, betrayed the trust of colleagues, and cost the USA millions of dollars and confidential information, and his name still carries the claim on the official FBI website that he is the agent who has caused the most damage to the bureau in almost 120 years of its existence.
TL;DR
- Robert Philip Hansen was an FBI agent who worked as a double agent for Russia for 15 years.
- He began spying in 1985, using his access to highly classified documents and information.
- Hansen transferred sensitive data to the KGB and later the Russian SVR in exchange for over $1.4 million in cash, bank transfers, and diamonds.
- His betrayal jeopardized national security, endangered colleagues, and cost the U.S. millions of dollars and confidential information.
- He was arrested on February 18, 2001, after FBI and CIA obtained Russian documents confirming his espionage.
- Hansen pleaded guilty to 15 counts of espionage on July 6, 2001, and was sentenced to life in prison without parole on May 10, 2002.
- He died on June 5, 2023, at the age of 79, remembered as an agent who caused immense damage to the FBI.