US Charges Five Over Alleged Russian Assassination Plots

Five people have been charged in the United States over alleged plots linked to Russian intelligence involving surveillance, recruitment and planned killings, according to an indictment unsealed by US prosecutors.

The US Department of Justice said the suspects allegedly worked on behalf of Russian intelligence services to conduct operations targeting Russian dissidents in the United States and abroad. All five suspects are currently at large.

The defendants were identified as Russian nationals Yuri Khrameev, 63, and his son Kirill Khrameev, 27, as well as Cuban nationals Oemis Romagoza Durruthy and Yaidel Delgado Suarez, both 35, and Venezuelan national Angel Eduardo Castro, 22.

Prosecutors charged all five with conspiracy to finance terrorism. Khrameev, Suarez and Castro also face charges of conspiring to commit murder for hire.

US Attorney General Todd Blanche said the alleged plots included attempts to assassinate a Russian dissident believed to be living in the Washington, DC area.

Justice Department officials said the network allegedly recruited people in the US to conduct surveillance on Russian dissidents in the United States and Lithuania.

According to prosecutors, one recruit was allegedly offered $40,000 to make a US-based target “disappear”, while another was reportedly offered $25,000 to kill a person in Lithuania.

Russia’s embassy in the United States has not commented on the allegations. Moscow has repeatedly denied accusations that Russian authorities have organised assassination operations abroad.

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