The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged five individuals in connection with what it described as Russian conspiracy plots involving surveillance, recruitment, and contract killings, according to an indictment made public on Tuesday and reported by Reuters.
These five individuals are accused of acting on behalf of Russian intelligence services to “carry out attacks and assassinations worldwide, including in the United States,” the DOJ stated in the indictment, noting that the suspects remain at large.
Among those charged are 63-year-old Russian citizen Yuri Khrameev; his 27-year-old son, Kirill Khrameev; Cuban nationals Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, 35, and Yaidel Delgado Suarez, 35; as well as 22-year-old Venezuelan citizen Angel Eduardo Castro. They face charges of conspiracy to provide material support for terrorism, with Khrameev, Suarez, and Castro also charged with conspiracy to commit murder for hire.
Attorney General Todd Blanche informed the press that the plans included “efforts to kill a Russian dissident believed to be located in the Washington, D.C. area.”
According to the DOJ, the network allegedly recruited several individuals in the United States to surveil Russian dissidents, including one residing in the U.S. and another in Lithuania.
One of the recruits was reportedly offered “$40,000 to ‘eliminate’ or ‘make disappear'” a person living in the U.S., the DOJ noted.
Last year, another recruited individual from the U.S. was allegedly offered $25,000 to kill a person living in Lithuania, the statement added.
The Russian embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Moscow has previously denied orchestrating such plots in other countries, including the United States.
