Translated material
Three Russian spies were exposed in the United States
The US Department of Justice announced the exposure of three Russian spies. One of them, Evgeny Buryakov, was arrested in New York. Two other suspects - Igor Sporyshev and Viktor Podobny - are outside the United States. All of them have been charged with espionage.
As stated in the message of the US Department of Justice, Buryakov worked for the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR). He entered the US as a private individual and worked in a representative office of one of the Russian banks in Manhattan. The name of the bank was not disclosed by the American authorities.
Sporyshev and Podobny are also named agents of the SVR in the message of the Ministry of Justice. From November 2010 to November 2014, Sporyshev worked as Russia's trade representative in New York, according to the ministry. Similar from December 2012 to September 2013, he served as an attaché at the permanent mission of Russia to the UN. Sporyshev and Similar, according to the US Department of Justice, acted as Buryakov's liaison.
The defendants are charged with collecting intelligence information, primarily of an economic nature, including information about possible US sanctions against Russian banks and about American projects in the field of alternative energy. Alleged spies are also accused of recruiting agents on US soil.
The Department of Justice report notes that the defendants have been under FBI surveillance since March 2012. FBI agents traced at least 48 meetings between Buryakov and Sporyshev.
The Russian consulate in New York reported that the diplomatic mission was aware of the detention of a Russian citizen. A consular officer will visit the arrested person after receiving appropriate notification from the US authorities.
Russia's permanent mission to the UN declined to comment on the exposure of the alleged spies.
“New York has become more hospitable to Russian businessmen than it was during the Cold War, but my office and the FBI remain just as vigilant about the illegal intelligence activities of other states,” said Preet Bharara, Attorney for the Southern District of New York. ).