A former KGB agent has alleged that Russian intelligence instructed Anna Chapman to seduce Edward Snowden in order to keep him in Moscow for further questioning. Boris Karpichkov, a defector who fled to Britain, told the Sunday People that the plan was to have Snowden accept Chapman's proposal, which would grant him Russian citizenship and restrict his ability to leave the country.
Chapman, 32, who was deported to Russia in 2010 after being convicted of conspiracy as part of a spy ring, reportedly met Snowden once and proposed to him via a tweet in July 2013. Karpichkov claimed that Snowden became concerned about the potential consequences of being linked to Chapman.
Former Conservative MP and spy writer Nigel West, also known as Rupert Allason, described Chapman as 'sophisticated enough to live with an American' and suggested she would use her 'obvious gifts' for the FSB, the successor to the KGB.
Chapman has never publicly commented on the proposal, and in a 2013 interview with NBC, she refused to answer questions about it before walking out. Since her return to Russia, she has become a celebrity, working as a TV presenter, model, and fashion brand owner.
Snowden, who leaked classified US surveillance programmes, was granted asylum in Moscow in August 2013 and now has a three-year residency permit. He was recently reunited with his girlfriend, Lindsay Mills, in Russia.
