American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent Robert Philip Hanssen (April 18, 1944 – June 5, 2023) spied for Soviet and Russian intelligence services against the United States from 1979 to 2001. The Department of Justice referred to his espionage as “potentially the worst intelligence disaster in U.S. history.”
Three years after joining the FBI, in 1979, Hanssen offered his services to the Soviet Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), starting his first espionage cycle that lasted until 1981.
As the Soviet Union fell apart in 1991, he stopped communicating with others and resumed his spying efforts out of fear of being discovered. The next year, Hanssen started speaking again, and he did so until his incarceration. He didn’t reveal his identity while he was snooping.
What was Robert Hanssen net worth at the time of death?
He received assets worth more than $1.4 million from Russia, including $800,000 transferred into a Russian bank, two Rolex watches, and around $600,000 in cash and diamonds.
Hanssen was the third FBI agent ever to face espionage charges.
