US Charges Five Over Alleged Russian Intelligence Murder Plots
US prosecutors have charged five people accused of working with Russian intelligence services on an international network involving surveillance, recruitment and planned killings.
The US Department of Justice said the five defendants allegedly worked for Russian intelligence to conduct attacks and murders in several countries, including the United States. All five remain at large.
The defendants were identified as 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.
According to the indictment, all five face charges of conspiring to finance terrorism. Khrameev, Suarez and Castro also face charges of conspiring to commit murder for hire.
US officials said the alleged network recruited people in the United States to conduct surveillance of Russian dissidents and pursue planned killings. Prosecutors said one recruit was allegedly offered $40,000 to make a US-based target “disappear,” while another was offered $25,000 to kill a target in Lithuania.
The case also involves an alleged plot targeting a Russian dissident believed to be living in the Washington, DC, area. The Justice Department said the network had focused on Russian dissidents and defectors and had also targeted countries viewed by Russia as aligned with Ukraine.
Russian authorities have previously rejected accusations of conducting assassination operations abroad. Russia’s embassy in Washington had not commented on the charges at the time of the report.
The Justice Department stressed that the charges are allegations and that all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
