US charges five over alleged Russian intelligence-linked assassination plots

The United States has unsealed an indictment charging five people over alleged Russian intelligence-linked surveillance, recruitment and planned killings. Prosecutors say the case involves plots targeting dissidents in the United States and Lithuania, and that all five defendants remain at large. The Justice Department said the network worked on behalf of Russian intelligence services and was involved in attacks and murders internationally.

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The defendants were identified as Russian national Yuri Khrameev, 63, his son Kirill Khrameev, 27, Cubans Oemis Romagoza Durruthy and Yaidel Delgado Suarez, both 35, and 22-year-old Venezuelan Angel Eduardo Castro. All five were charged with conspiring to finance terrorism, while Yuri Khrameev, Delgado Suarez and Castro also face charges of conspiring to commit murder for hire. Attorney General Todd Blanche said the alleged plots included attempts to kill a Russian dissident believed to be living in the Washington, DC area.

Justice Department officials said the network recruited people in the US to carry out surveillance on Russian dissidents. They said the targets included individuals in the United States and in Lithuania, and that one recruit was allegedly promised $40,000 to make a US-based target disappear. Officials also said a separate recruit was offered $25,000 the previous year to kill someone in Lithuania.

The case adds to concerns in Western capitals about the reach of foreign intelligence services and the use of criminal intermediaries in cross-border operations. The allegations are significant because they point to an alleged effort to combine surveillance, recruitment and murder-for-hire planning across multiple countries. If proven, the case would suggest a coordinated network operating beyond a single jurisdiction and targeting people seen as opponents of the Russian state.

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It also raises questions about the protection of dissidents living abroad, including in the US capital region, where one alleged target was believed to be based. The Justice Department has not said where the defendants are currently located, beyond stating that they remain at large. Russia's embassy in the US has not commented on the case, and Moscow has consistently rejected accusations that it has orchestrated assassination operations on foreign soil, including in the US.

The indictment was unsealed on Tuesday, but prosecutors have not publicly detailed whether any arrests are expected soon. What remains unclear is how far the alleged network extended, whether any of the reported plots moved beyond planning, and what evidence investigators say links the defendants to Russian intelligence services. It is also not clear whether the people allegedly recruited in the US are facing charges.

The case is likely to be watched closely for any further disclosures about the alleged targets in Washington and Lithuania, and for any response from Russian officials.

#UnitedStates #JusticeDepartment #Russianintelligence #assassinationplots #terrorismconspiracy

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