Prosecutors allege that they plotted to gather intelligence in the United States for Russia's foreign intelligence service and to recruit New York residents in an infiltration scheme that ran from 2012 to the present time.
"On May 21, 2013, Sporyshev called Buryakov to ask for Buryakov's help in formulating questions to be used for intelligence gathering purposes by others associated with a leading Russian state-owned news organization," the joint statement, issued by by US Attorney General, Manhattan US Attorney and the FBI Monday said, listing it as "Buryakov's Intelligence Taskings".
During the period of the alleged plot, Buryakov posed as an employee of a Russian bank, Sporyshev was a Russian trade representative, and Podobnyy was an attaché to Moscow's mission to the United Nations, according to a US Department of Justice statement issued Monday.
Just in: FBI arrests Russian spy in the Bronx who was part of ring attempting to collect economic intelligence & recruit #NYC residents
— FBI New York (@NewYorkFBI) January 26, 2015
Buryakov was placed under arrest in Bronx on Monday and later appeared before the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. A source is the court told RIA Novosti that the next hearing in the case is scheduled for February 9 and that Buryakov could face up to 10 years in prison.
FBI catches Russian spy in NY, just before he disappears into blizzard.
— Jeffrey Goldberg (@JeffreyGoldberg) January 26, 2015
Sporyshev and Podobnyy no longer reside in the United States – they had left the country before criminal charges were brought against them.
The Embassy of the Russian Federation in Washington DC informed RIA Novosti Monday that it was in the process of studying information on the alleged involvement of Buryakov, Sporyshev and Podobnyy in intelligence-gathering activities.
