It seems the three named Evgeny Buryakov, Igor Sporyshev and Victor Podobnyy had hatched a conspiracy to gather economic intelligence on behalf of Russia. The information they were after included alleged information about U.S. sanctions against the country.
This has been revealed by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.
As per the criminal complaint, the charges are linked to Buryakov's alleged covert work on behalf of Russia's foreign intelligence service, known as the SVR. It was not possible to arrest the other two, Sporyshev and Podobnyy because they do not live in the United States any longer and enjoyed diplomatic immunity during their stay.
The alleged conspiracy began in 2012 just after the expulsion of a number of Russian spies from the United States in 2010.
40-year-old Sporyshev worked as a Russian trade representative from November 2010 to November 2014, while 27-year-old Podobnyy was an attaché to Russia's mission to the United Nations from December 2012 to September 2013.
39-year-old Buryakov concealed his real intentions by posing as a banker for Russia's Vnesheconombank. He was arrested in the Bronx while the other two are at large.
The case against Buryakov has been built based on physical and electronic surveillance of dozens of meetings. Some of these meetings were with an FBI agent where the Russian posed as a wealthy investor who wanted to develop casinos in Russia.
It may be recalled that a Russian spy ring had been identified in 2010 and the concerned individuals had been expelled from the US and sent back to Russia. They had plans to infiltrate upper levels of U.S. business and government. In spite of such actions, Russian spies continue to seek to operate in the United States.
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