“The defendant is charged in connection with his service as a covert intelligence agent on behalf of the Russian Federation in New York City, without notifying the US Attorney General of his status as an agent of Russia, as required by federal law,” the statement said.
The next hearing on the case is scheduled for March 26, US District Judge Richard Berman said, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported.
Buryakov's lawyer said that his client does not plead guilty.
Prosecutors claim that Buryakov, 39, Igor Sporyshev, 40, and Viktor Podobny, 27, plotted to gather economic intelligence for Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service’s facility and to recruit New York residents in a scheme that started in 2012.
The prosecution comes amid tensions between the United States and Russia that are at their lowest since the end of the Cold War. Moscow and Washington accuse each other of backing a military confrontation in eastern Ukraine that has claimed more than 5,400 lives since last April.
In January, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich accused Washington of detaining Russian citizens without evidence and said the “anti-Russian campaign” would “undermine” relations between the two countries.
