US charges five people in alleged Russian-backed murder plots
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FILE PHOTO: A U.S. Justice Department logo or seal showing Justice Department headquarters, known as "Main Justice," is seen behind the podium in the Department's headquarters briefing room in Washington, January 24, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Pho
By Christian Martinez
Sept 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice has charged five people in connection with alleged Russian plots involving surveillance, recruitment and targeted killings, according to an indictment unsealed on Tuesday.
The five people allegedly worked for Russian intelligence services to "conduct attacks and murders around the world, including in the United States," the DOJ said in the indictment, adding the individuals were still at large.
The DOJ said Russian national Yuri Khrameev, 63; his son, Kirill Khrameev, 27; Cuban nationals Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, 35, and Yaidel Delgado Suarez, 35; and Venezuelan national Angel Eduardo Castro, 22, were charged with an alleged conspiracy to finance terrorism. Khrameev, Suarez, and Castro were also charged with conspiracy to commit murder for hire.
"Until we hear and see any credible evidence and arguments based on tangible facts, we do not believe it is necessary to comment on these reports," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday.
Russia has previously denied conducting such plots on foreign soil, including in the United States.
Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters the plots included "efforts to murder a Russian dissident who investigators believed was located in the Washington, D.C., area."
According to the Justice Department, the network allegedly recruited multiple people in the United States to provide surveillance on Russian dissidents, including one living in the U.S. and one in Lithuania.
One recruit was allegedly offered "$40,000 to 'eliminate' or 'disappear'" a person residing in the U.S., according to the Justice Department. Last year, another U.S. recruit was allegedly offered $25,000 to kill a person living in Lithuania, it said.
(Reporting by Christian Martinez; Editing by Michael Perry and Tomasz Janowski)
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