US charges five over alleged Russian intelligence-linked plots
The US Department of Justice alleges recruits were used to surveil Russian dissidents and arrange killings in the United States and Lithuania.
The United States has charged five people over alleged Russian intelligence-linked plots involving surveillance, recruitment and planned killings in the US and internationally. An indictment unsealed by the US Department of Justice alleges the group worked on behalf of Russian intelligence services.
The defendants are Russian nationals Yuri Khrameev, 63, and his son Kirill Khrameev, 27; Cuban nationals Oemis Romagoza Durruthy and Yaidel Delgado Suarez, both 35; and Venezuelan national Angel Eduardo Castro, 22. Prosecutors said all five remain at large.
All five face charges of conspiring to finance terrorism. Khrameev, Suarez and Castro also face charges of conspiring to commit murder for hire.
The Justice Department alleges the network recruited people in the US to conduct surveillance of Russian dissidents in the US and Lithuania. Attorney General Todd Blanche said the alleged plots included attempts to kill a Russian dissident believed to be living in the Washington, DC area.
Prosecutors further allege that one recruit was offered $40,000 to make a US-based target “disappear”, while another was offered $25,000 to kill someone in Lithuania. The allegations have not been tested in court. Russia has previously rejected accusations that it orchestrated assassination operations abroad.
