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Spy

A 12th suspect in the Russian spy-ring case that erupted last month was deported by the U.S. on Tuesday, sent home on a free flight without being charged with a crime.

Alexev Karetnikov, 23 years old, who had lived in the Seattle area, was flown back to Russia from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, according to U.S. officials. His detention was first reported in The Wall Street Journal.

He was transported on Monday to New York for a connecting flight back to Russia after having been taken into custody on June 28 in Seattle, the official said.

He wasn’t charged as a secret agent, but he had been held since June 28 on immigration violations.

Microsoft Corp. said the 12th alleged member of a Russian spy ring operating in the U.S. was an employee at the company’s Redmond, Washington, headquarters.

The man, a Russian citizen in his early 20s named Alexey Karetnikov, worked for Microsoft as a software tester for about nine months, a spokeswoman for Microsoft in Moscow, who declined to be identified in line with company rules, said by e-mail today, BusinessWeek reports.