World
US Indicts Five Individuals in Alleged Russian Intelligence Plots
The United States Department of Justice has unsealed an indictment charging five individuals in connection with alleged Russian intelligence-linked plots. Prosecutors stated on Tuesday that the group operated on behalf of Russian intelligence services to conduct attacks and murders internationally, including within the US. All five defendants are currently at large.
The charged individuals include Russian national Yuri Khrameev, 63, and his son Kirill Khrameev, 27. Also named are Cubans Oemis Romagoza Durruthy and Yaidel Delgado Suarez, both 35, and Venezuelan Angel Eduardo Castro, 22. All five face charges of conspiring to finance terrorism. Additionally, Khrameev, Suarez, and Castro are charged with conspiring to commit murder for hire.
Attorney General Todd Blanche stated at a news conference that the alleged plots encompassed attempts to assassinate a Russian dissident believed to reside in the Washington, DC area. Justice Department officials reported that the network recruited multiple individuals in the US to conduct surveillance on Russian dissidents, targeting individuals in both the US and Lithuania. In one instance, a recruit was reportedly offered $40,000 to make a US-based target “disappear.” Another recruit was allegedly offered $25,000 the previous year to kill someone in Lithuania.
Russia’s embassy in the US has not commented on the case. Moscow has consistently denied accusations of orchestrating assassination operations on foreign soil, including in the US.