Key facts
- Five individuals have been charged by the U.S. Department of Justice in connection with alleged Russian intelligence plots.
- The alleged plots involved surveillance, recruitment, and targeted killings in the U.S. and Europe.
- Targets included Russian dissidents and individuals in countries supporting Ukraine.
- One recruit was allegedly offered $40,000 to 'eliminate' or 'disappear' a person residing in the U.S.
- Another U.S. recruit was allegedly offered $25,000 to kill a person living in Lithuania.
- All five suspects remain at large.
The U.S. Department of Justice unsealed charges on Tuesday against five individuals accused of working for Russian intelligence services to conduct a global network of assassinations and sabotage. The indictment alleges that the network sought to recruit individuals in the United States to conduct surveillance and carry out killings, with targets including Russian dissidents and individuals in countries supporting Ukraine.
According to the Justice Department, the five charged individuals are Russian national Yuri Khrameev, 63; his son, Kirill Khrameev, 27; Cuban national Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, 35; and Yaidel Delgado Suarez, 35; and Venezuelan national Angel Eduardo Castro, 22. They face charges including conspiracy to finance terrorism, and Khrameev, Suarez, and Castro are also charged with conspiracy to commit murder for hire.
Prosecutors stated that one recruit in the U.S. was offered $40,000 to 'eliminate' or 'disappear' a target, while another U.S. recruit was offered $25,000 to kill an individual in Lithuania who was allegedly 'telling lies about Russia'. The father, Yuri Khrameev, allegedly offered the recruit $25,000 for the Lithuania killing. The recruit was initially offered $1,000 to $1,500 for surveillance work in the U.S.
All five accused remain at large. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Moscow will not comment until it hears or sees 'any credible evidence' or 'tangible facts'.