1 Arrested, 2 Sought In Alleged Russian Spy Ring In New York
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The U.S. Attorney's office on Monday announced charges against an alleged Russian spy who accused of illegally gathering intelligence in the United States.
Evgeny Buryakov, also known as "Zhenya," was accused of acting as a spy on behalf of the Russian Federation in New York City without notifying the U.S. Attorney General's office as required by law. Buryakov was arrested in the Bronx on Monday, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors were still searching for two other suspects in the alleged covert spying operation – Igor Sporyshev and Victor Podobnyy – who no longer reside in the United States and have not been arrested, prosecutors said. Sporyshev and Podobnyy had been protected by diplomatic immunity form arrest and prosecution while in the U.S. by virtue of prior positions they held.
Prosecutors said Buryakov worked in the U.S. as an agent of the Russian foreign intelligence agency known as the SVR. He worked as a non-official cover, meaning that he entered and stayed in the U.S. as a private citizen and posed as an employee in the Manhattan office of a Russian bank, prosecutors said.
Sporyshev and Podobnyy are also SVR agents who allegedly posed as official representatives of Russia while really acting as spies, prosecutors said. Sporyshev served as a trade representation from the Russian Federation in New York from 2010 to 2014, and Podobnyy served as the attaché to the permanent mission of the Russian Federation at the United Nations, prosecutors said.
While they were immune from arrest based on those positions, they can still be prosecuted for allegedly conspiring with Buryakov, prosecutors said.
Sporyshev and Podobnyy allegedly tried to recruit New York City residents as intelligence sources for Russia and tasked Buryakov to gather intelligence, which they allegedly relayed to SVR headquarters in Moscow, prosecutors said.
The directives from the SVR that the three received included requests to gather intelligence on potential U.S. sanctions against Russian banks and efforts in the U.S. to develop alternative energy sources, prosecutors said.
The three allegedly spoke in code and passed bags, magazines and slips of paper outdoors to avoid surveillance, and also spoke non-specifically about non-specific tickets, books, lists, or ordinary items such as umbrellas or hats that were really believed to be intelligence they gathered, prosecutors said.
The meetings were always preceded by a brief phone call in which they also spoke in code about an exchange, prosecutors said.
Sporyshev and Podobnyy also allegedly discussed their plans to recruit U.S. residents, including several people employed by major companies and several young women tied to an unspecified major university in New York City, prosecutors said.
Podobnyy said his recruitment method included cheating and promising favors, prosecutors said.
"This is intelligence method to cheat. . . . You promise a favor for a favor. You get the documents from him and tell him to go [expletive] himself," Podobnyy allegedly said.
Buryakov met several times with a confidential source working for the FBI, who posed as a representative of a wealthy investor who wanted to develop casinos in Russia, prosecutors said. During the meetings, Buryakov allegedly demonstrated a desire to obtain information far beyond the scope of his work as the bank employee he claimed to be in everyday life – including information about U.S. sanctions against Russia, prosecutors said.
Buryakov, 39; Sporyshev, 40; and Podobnyy, 27, are charged with a conspiracy claim that could result in a maximum sentence of five years in prison upon conviction, prosecutors said.
Buryakov is also charged with acting as an agent of the foreign government without notifying the U.S. Attorney General, and Sporyshev and Podobnyy are charged with aiding and abetting that effort, prosecutors said. Those charges carry a maximum of 10 years in prison.
