Washington: An Australian man living in the United States faces a possible jail sentence after pleading guilty to stealing defence trade secrets from his American employer for a Russian broker.

Peter Williams, 39, entered the plea before the District of Columbia in Washington on Wednesday, local time, in relation to two counts of theft of trade secrets.

The FBI acting special agent in charge of the investigation said Williams had betrayed the US and its allies. Credit: nna\advidler

Court documents seen by this masthead, alleged Williams intended those secrets to be sold outside the US “specifically to a buyer based in the Russian Federation”, and were worth about $US1.3 million ($2 million).

Prosecutors said the material was stolen over a three-year period – between 2022 and 2025

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