Edward Snowden is a registered Russian taxpayer.
The former US National Security Agency whistleblower, who has lived in Russia since his revelations rocked the US intelligence community in 2013, has a taxpayer identification number, RFE/RL's Russian investigative unit, Systema, has found.
The number, which appears in the database maintained by the Russian Federal Tax Service, also shows Snowden's registered address is in Lyubertsy, a Moscow region suburb better known for drab Soviet-era apartment blocks and 1990s gang lore.
Snowden, whom President Vladimir Putin granted citizenship to in September 2022, could not be reached for comment. He did not immediately respond to a direct message sent via X. Snowden's wife, Lindsay Mills, and Snowden's lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, did not respond to messages from Systema.
Snowden's revelations about US intelligence and surveillance programs, many of which were overseen by the National Security Agency, stunned not just Americans but also many US allies in Europe and elsewhere.
The US Justice Department indicted Snowden in June 2013 under the Espionage Act, not long after US and British newspapers began publishing stories based on millions of documents leaked by Snowden. Shortly after the indictment, Snowden flew from Hong Kong to Moscow.
The US State Department revoked his passport, and Russian authorities then granted him asylum and then legal residency. In 2023, a year after receiving citizenship, he received a Russian passport.
According to the Federal Tax Service data reviewed by Systema, Snowden's taxpayer identification number matches his full name and date of birth.
The first four digits of the taxpayer identification number indicate it is registered in Lyubertsy, located on the Russian capital's eastern outskirts.
It is unclear when exactly Snowden was registered in the tax service database. And it was also unclear he has in fact paid any taxes to the Russian government.
The taxpayer identification number is assigned automatically to newborn citizens, for example, or to those who have received a Russian passport. Foreign citizens receive an identification upon application if they intend to pay taxes in Russia.
A separate database maintained by the Federal Bailiff Service and reviewed by Systema indicates Snowden has no fines or debts or liens due -- either to the government or private individuals.
Since living in Russia, Snowden has maintained a relatively low profile. He has granted several interviews to foreign media in the past, and has spoken to conferences outside of Russia via video link. He gave an interview to libertarian commentator John Stossel on January 31.
He posts sporadically on social media. His last post on X was on January 31.
His actual residence in Russia is also unclear.
However, his wife Lindsay has periodically posted photographs to her in Instagram page from Russian locations.
In 2018, she posted a photograph from a wooded park near Lyubertsy, which like many other suburbs of the Russian capital has changed markedly as the Moscow region has prospered and expanded.
The Soviet apartment blocks are now also interspersed with newer construction and development.
Snowden has said he leaked the documents to expose the extent of government surveillance and the potential for abuse of power.
His revelations have made him a hero to civil libertarians and others who fear the expansion of government surveillance programs and powerful technologies that boost those efforts.
He's also been vilified in the US intelligence community and elsewhere as a traitor.
The issue came up in January when Tulsi Gabbard, at the time President Donald Trump's nominee for director of national intelligence, was grilled by US senators.
Gabbard, who was eventually confirmed to the post, had called Snowden "brave" in the past and said he should be pardoned.
During the hearings, she said: "Snowden broke the law."
