The FBI announced the exposure of the Russian agent network. The State Duma called the case politically motivated and urged to respond to the States according to the principle of “an eye for an eye”.
On Tuesday, January 27, it became known that the United States authorities accused three Russians – 39-year-old Evgeny Buryakov, 40-year-old Igor Sporyshev and 27-year-old Viktor Podobny – of espionage in favor of the Russian Federation. According to U.S. law enforcers, all three were agents of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR).
Of all the suspects, the Americans managed to detain only Buryakov, who, according to unconfirmed reports, is a representative of Vnesheconombank in the United States. Sporyshev, who works in the Russian trade mission, and Podobnyy, who is an employee of the Russian mission to the UN, are currently outside the United States.
Telling about America only with the permission of the Prosecutor General
The indictment that put Buryakov behind bars states that he “acted as a foreign agent” without notifying the U.S. Attorney General’s Office. Under U.S. law, such activity is punishable by five years in prison. In addition, all three Russians are charged with complicity in espionage activities, the maximum penalty for which is 10 years in prison. Buryakov faces up to 15 years in prison.
The Russian is accused of telling a Russian diplomat exactly how to formulate questions about the New York Stock Exchange for a Russian state media outlet. “After thinking for about twenty minutes, Buryakov replied that we should “ask about ETFs” (exchange traded funds) and that these funds could be used to destabilize the markets. He also suggested that ‘media personnel’ should ask about restrictions on the use of high-speed exchange trades conducted by computers,” the U.S. Attorney General’s Office said in a statement.
Tickets, books, umbrellas and hats
The Russians are also accused of trying to recruit employees of large US companies and young girls with university connections. This is allegedly evidenced by phone conversations intercepted by intelligence services.
One of the “evidence” cited is the case when, after a conversation with a Russian embassy representative who asked him about the effects of economic sanctions, Buryakov made several Internet searches using the words “sanctions, Russia, consequences” and “sanctions, Russia, impact.”
According to the FBI, whose officers were monitoring Buryakov, Sporyshev and Podobny, the suspects had 48 brief meetings between March 2012 and mid-September 2014. “On some occasions, Buryakov handed Sporyshev a bag, magazine or newspaper; these meetings generally took place on the street, where the threat of surveillance is lower,” prosecutors said in a statement. The meetings were preceded by calls from Russian diplomats; in their conversations, the Russians constantly mentioned certain “tickets,” “books,” “lists,” “umbrellas” and “hats.” According to prosecutors, these were code words that Russian agents used to mask the true content of the transmissions.
“In particular, although tickets and movies were discussed in conversation many times, FBI agents were never able to see the suspects at the movie theater,” prosecutors note.
A case with political overtones
Some observers believe the current spy scandal could be the biggest since 2011, when Russian spy Anna Chapman was exposed. Others, however, believe the story is politically motivated.
“This case, on the one hand, is criminal because U.S. laws were violated: you can only advise the Russian government if you have accreditation from the U.S. State Department,” said New York-based Lawyer Bukh Arkady Bukh. – “But this is also a political case, because it is clear that people from ‘friendly’ countries who have committed such a violation are not arrested on such charges.”
According to the lawyer, if citizens of Italy or Great Britain had committed such a violation, they would probably not have been imprisoned. However, in the case of the Russians, the prosecutor’s office will surely demand the toughest possible punishment.
The Russian side has not yet reacted to the “spying” outburst of its overseas partners. “We are aware of this situation, we will start dealing with it after we receive a notification from the American side about the detention of a Russian citizen,” the Russian Consulate General in New York told reporters.
The management of Vnesheconombank refused to comment on reports about the detention of the alleged employee. Nevertheless, the bank’s website has information that a man named Evgeny Evgenyevich Buryakov works as the bank’s deputy representative in New York.
The Foreign Intelligence Service and the Russian Foreign Ministry have also not yet commented on the matter. But Duma deputies have already called on the authorities to respond to the States in a similar manner.
“One hundred percent, this is a political order. The task of representatives of the trade mission is to look for investors, to look for contacts. It is ridiculous to accuse such people of industrial espionage,” the head of the Just Russia faction in the Duma, Sergei Mironov, said. According to him, the most correct tactic in this case would be “an eye for an eye.” “Our special services have representatives of the (US) diplomatic corps who are clearly not quite at odds with the law,” the parliamentarian said.
Source: https://www.trud.ru/article/27-01-2015/1321593_15_let_za_voprosy_o_birzhe_mezhdu_ssha_i_rf_razgorelsja_novyj_shpionskij_skandal.html