`Deep-Cover' Russian Spies Worked in U.S., FBI Says

Bloomberg:

Ten alleged members of a “long- term, deep-cover” Russian spy ring whose ultimate goal was to infiltrate U.S. policy-making circles have been arrested, the Justice Department said.

The arrests in the New York area and in Boston and Arlington, Virginia, were the result of an investigation by U.S. authorities into the ring, which began operating in the 1990s, according to two criminal complaints unsealed yesterday.

The alleged ring included agents posing as American and Canadian citizens, some of them living in the U.S. for more than 20 years, with the goal of becoming “Americanized” and passing intelligence back to the Russian Federation, according to the complaints.

The conspiracy involved at least three unnamed Russian government officials, including an official associated with the Russian Mission to the United Nations, the complaints said.

The government charged 11 individuals, including the 10 arrested June 27, with conspiring to act as illegal agents of the Russian Federation within the U.S., according to a Justice Department statement yesterday. One defendant hasn’t yet been arrested. Nine of the defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Posted via email from Jim Nichols