The Business Executive's Guide to Retaliatory Arrests

The Business Executive’s Guide to Retaliatory Arrests

Posted: January 7th, 2019

By Rob Dannenberg

Rob Dannenberg served as chief of operations for CIA's Counterterrorism Center, chief of the Central Eurasia Division and chief of the Information Operations Center before retiring from the Agency. He served as managing director and head of the Office of Global Security for Goldman Sachs, and as director of International Security Affairs at BP. He is now an independent consultant on geopolitical and security risk.

Russia’s willingness to detain a U.S. citizen in apparent retaliation for the recent case against Russian citizen Marina Butina should serve as a warning to U.S. citizens who are traveling – without the benefit of diplomatic immunity – of the risks in traveling to countries where the rule of law is dictated by geopolitical considerations. It’s a risk which current business and personal travelers should be aware of, and one that is not likely to go away in the near term.

While there is never a completely “safe” time to travel to countries like Russia or China, the examples of Whelan, Canadian citizens Michael Spevor and former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig, both detained in recent weeks by Chinese authorities “on suspicion of endangering national security” should serve as a warning of just how real the risk can be.

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