Russian computer programmer arrested in Spain over suspected involvement in US election hacking

A Russian computer programmer, Pyotr Levashov, was arrested in Barcelona, Spain on Sunday on suspicion of involvement in the 2016 US presidential elections hacking.

A spokesperson for the Russian embassy in Madrid confirmed Levashov's arrest, but declined to reveal details.

According to RT, Levashov was arrested under a US international arrest warrant and was suspected of being involved in the hacking associated with the alleged Russian interference in the US presidential polls.

A spokesperson for the US Justice Department's criminal division, Peter Carr, said: "The US case remains under seal, so we have no information to provide at this time." An official added that the Russian's arrest was a criminal matter without an apparent national security connection.

The US Justice Department's criminal division is separate from the national division, which investigates state-sponsored cyber crime.

In January, Spanish police had arrested another Russian computer programmer, who was wanted by the US for leading a financial fraud network.

The US government has accused Russia of hacking the Democratic Party during the 2016 US presidential elections to influence Donald Trump's win. The email accounts of several top officials from Democratic National Committee were hacked last year and controversial emails were made public by WikiLeaks, dealing a huge blow to the Democratic presidential campaign.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) chief had also revealed last month that the investigative agency is probing links of some of the officials from Trump's administration with Russian officials during the elections campaign.

Russia, however, has denied any involvement in the US elections hacking.