Search intensifies for Monica Witt: FBI offers $200,000 bounty

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has announced a $200,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of former U.S. counterintelligence agent Monica Witt, who is accused of espionage on behalf of Iran.

The renewed appeal highlights growing urgency in a long-running national security case tied to allegations that Witt transferred classified U.S. intelligence to the Iranian government after defecting in 2013, News.Az reports, citing MSN.

According to U.S. officials, Witt remains in Iran and is still considered a fugitive. Federal investigators are urging anyone with information about her whereabouts or activities to contact authorities.

Witt, a former Air Force intelligence specialist and ex-agent with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, was indicted in 2019 on charges including transmitting national defense information to Iran. Prosecutors said her work gave her access to secret and top-secret intelligence, including the identities of undercover U.S. personnel.

The FBI alleges that after leaving the United States, Witt provided sensitive information that may have exposed intelligence operations and endangered American personnel.

Daniel Wierzbicki, head of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Counterintelligence and Cyber Division, said the bureau believes there may now be new opportunities to locate Witt.

The FBI has also raised concerns that information allegedly provided by Witt could have benefited elements of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps involved in intelligence operations and support activities targeting U.S. interests.

The case remains one of the highest-profile espionage investigations involving a former U.S. intelligence official in recent years and comes amid broader American concerns over foreign intelligence activities linked to Iran and China.

News.Az 

By Aysel Mammadzada