Cyprus bails suspect in U.S.-Russia spy case

NICOSIA (Reuters) - A man suspected of being the 11th member of a U.S. spy ring allegedly working for Russia has been arrested and released on bail in Cyprus, police said on Tuesday.

Robert Christopher Metsos, 55, was arrested at Cyprus's Larnaca airport as he tried to leave the island for Budapest early on Tuesday, police said. A magistrate released Metsos on 20,000 euros ($24,410) bail to reappear in court within 30 days, when an extradition hearing will start.

It is highly unusual for Cyprus courts to issue bail for foreign nationals pending extradition. In court hearings prosecutors frequently cite the risk of flight via an unrecognized breakaway state in the island's north.

Police had attempted to hold Metsos in custody pending the extradition hearing.

"Based on the (Interpol) red notice we received, he is wanted for money laundering and espionage," police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos told Reuters.

Local media reports said Metsos was a Canadian with a U.S. passport.

The man is believed to be the 11th suspect U.S. authorities say is involved in a spy ring that carried out deep-cover work in the United States to recruit political sources and gather information for the Russian government. U.S. authorities said on Monday they arrested 10 suspected spies in the ring.

Metsos has been accused of receiving and making payments to the other members of the group, including getting payments during a brush-pass with a Russian government official who was affiliated with the Russian mission to the United Nations in New York, according to the U.S. Justice Department.

The U.S. embassy in Nicosia said it was not aware of the arrest.

Documents Cypriot authorities submitted to court said the Interpol red alert for Metsos was issued on June 26. It said he was thought to have laundered some $40,000.

"He has to appear at a police station once a day and has handed in his travel documents to police," Katsounotos said.

Metsos had arrived in Cyprus on June 17 and had been staying alone at a hotel in Larnaca, on the east Mediterranean island's southern coast.

The extradition hearing will start on July 29.

(Writing by Michele Kambas; Editing by Louise Ireland)