Ten arrested in US on charges of spying for Russia

[Srelex]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/us_and ... 442223.stm

Ten people have been arrested in the United States for allegedly spying for the Russian government.

The US Department of Justice said they were held for allegedly carrying out "long-term, 'deep-cover' assignments" on US soil.

They have been charged with conspiracy to act as unlawful agents of a foreign government, a crime which carries up to five years in prison.

An 11th suspect remains at large, according to justice officials.

Money laundering

The BBC's Kim Ghattas in Washington says it is a story of Cold War-era espionage with the tools and technology of the 21st Century.

The alleged agents were trained by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) and sent to the US to infiltrate policy-making circles and collect information, according to court papers filed in US District Court for the southern district of New York.

Russian intelligence allegedly asked them for information on Washington's perception of Russian foreign policy, Iran's nuclear programme and Obama's intentions at a summit last year


Some of them had been living in the country under false identities since the early 1990s, using codes and and engaging in advanced computer operations, including posting apparently innocent pictures on the internet which contained detailed texts, investigators say.

The FBI also reported observing older techniques, such as money being buried next to a beer-bottle marker and "brush pasts" in parks.

"You were sent to USA for long-term service trip," says one purported message to two of the suspects that was intercepted by US intelligence. "Your education, bank accounts, car, house etc - all these serve one goal: fulfil your main mission, ie to search and develop ties in policymaking circles in US and send intels."

They allegedly got close to a scientist involved in designing bunker-busting bombs and a top former intelligence official.

Five of the suspects will appear later in a Manhattan federal court - a couple known as "Richard Murphy" and "Cynthia Murphy", who were arrested in Montclair, New Jersey; Vicky Pelaez and a man known as "Juan Lazaro," who were arrested in Yonkers, New York state; and Anna Chapman, who was arrested in Manhattan, New York City.
Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev enjoy a burger in Arlington, Virginia Relations between Washington and Moscow had warmed considerably

Another three - Mikhail Semenko and a couple known as "Michael Zottoli" and "Patricia Mills" - will appear in a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, after being arrested in Arlington, Virginia.

The final two people - a couple known as "Donald Howard Heathfield" and "Tracey Lee Ann Foley" - were arrested in Boston, Massachusetts, and will appear in a federal court in the city.

A suspect known as "Christopher R Metsos" remains at large.

All of the arrested suspects, except Ms Chapman and Mr Semenko, have also been charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Our correspondent says the arrests will come as quite a surprise, as relations between Washington and Moscow have warmed considerably in recent months. Just last week, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was in Washington having lunch with President Barack Obama.

It is still unclear how the White House will react or how Russia will explain this, she adds.

[ShadowDragon8685]

Does anyone else find it to be bizzarely telling that the sentance for conspiracy to commit money laundering is quadruple the sentance for espionage?


I wonder if we'll see a return of the days of spy trading; they grab some of our assets and hand them back in exchange for theirs? I wouldn't be surprised is the various Agencies just maintain a watch list of guys they've detected, are monitoring, and are allowing to proceed in their clumsy attempts at espionage simply so they can be scooped up and offered in trade in the event one of yours gets grabbed.

[Samuel]

Our correspondent says the arrests will come as quite a surprise, as relations between Washington and Moscow have warmed considerably in recent months. Just last week, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was in Washington having lunch with President Barack Obama.

Is the reporter really that stupid? A deep cover assignment keeps going even if the relations between nations change. Still

Russian intelligence allegedly asked them for information on Washington's perception of Russian foreign policy, Iran's nuclear programme and Obama's intentions at a summit last year

is any of that illegal? What they are doing sounds like normal lobbying, aside from the implication that they were trying to steal American military technology.

[Stofsk]

Does anyone else find it to be bizzarely telling that the sentance for conspiracy to commit money laundering is quadruple the sentance for espionage?

No. Money laundering is something that high profile gangsters/mobsters/'legitimate businessmen' get up to. They usually have vast, extensive criminal enterprises but cover their tracks exceptionally well. It's absolutely no surprise that someone who gets convicted of money laundering would go away for a very long time in comparison to some grunt-level spy who's counting the number of paper clips in the embassy.

I wonder if we'll see a return of the days of spy trading; they grab some of our assets and hand them back in exchange for theirs? I wouldn't be surprised is the various Agencies just maintain a watch list of guys they've detected, are monitoring, and are allowing to proceed in their clumsy attempts at espionage simply so they can be scooped up and offered in trade in the event one of yours gets grabbed.

It only works if they can be bothered to swap.

Our correspondent says the arrests will come as quite a surprise, as relations between Washington and Moscow have warmed considerably in recent months. Just last week, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was in Washington having lunch with President Barack Obama.

Is the reporter really that stupid? A deep cover assignment keeps going even if the relations between nations change.

Intelligence activities are usually accompanied with plenty of misinformation/misunderstanding of what actually goes on. It is a bit incongruous to find out your allies are spying on you, or people you have friendly relations with are being naughty. Recently a Mossad agent/'Israeli Embassy Official' was deported from Australia for doing something I fully expect every intelligence agency does (compile fake passports for the use of their agents).

Still

Russian intelligence allegedly asked them for information on Washington's perception of Russian foreign policy, Iran's nuclear programme and Obama's intentions at a summit last year

is any of that illegal? What they are doing sounds like normal lobbying, aside from the implication that they were trying to steal American military technology.

Depends on their methods. There's bound to be someone in an embassy who's an intelligence agent. How they go about doing what they do is likely where the criminal charges enter the picture. Quite a lot of that information is bound to be sensitive - I doubt Moscow wants to learn about official statements, but rather unofficial indications and/or things that are of a confidential nature, like minutes for meetings that aren't supposed to see the light of day, or getting hands on an internal memo or something like that.

[Ace Pace]

RIA Novosti

JERUSALEM, June 29 (RIA Novosti) - U.S. authorities arrested 10 people on Tuesday on charges of spying on behalf of Russia.

The announcement came just days after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's visit to the United States. Images of the Russian leader eating a burger with his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama were viewed all over the world as a sign of improved relations between Moscow and Washington.

Some Russian experts have warned that the new witch-hunt would jeopardize the reset in Russian-U.S. ties.

Russia wants explanation

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that Russia wanted an explanation from the United States over the arrest of the Russian "spies."

"They have not explained to us what is going on. I hope they will," Lavrov told journalists following talks with his Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman in Jerusalem, adding "the only thing I can say is that the timing [of the announcement], was chosen with a particular care."

The U.S. Department of Justice said on Monday that 11 people had been charged as "unlawful agents of the Russian Federation within the United States." Ten of them were arrested on Sunday and the other one remains at large, the department said in a statement.

The U.S. authorities said the case was "the result of a multi-year investigation conducted by the FBI, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, and the Counterespionage Section and the Office of Intelligence within the Justice Department's National Security Division."

According to the complaint filed in the court by U.S. intelligence, some of the suspects had been under surveillance since January and part of their correspondence with Moscow had been intercepted and decoded.

"You were sent to USA for long-term service trip. Your education, bank accounts, car, house etc - all these serve one goal: fulfill your main mission - to search and develop ties in policymaking circles in the U.S. and send intels," one of the intercepted messages allegedly said.

The U.S. media has said it is unclear from the report what information was transmitted by those charged and whether their activities jeopardized U.S. security.

Cold War-era 'spy games'

The Russian Foreign Ministry expressed on Tuesday its regret over the scandal.

"We do not understand why the U.S. Department of Justice issued a public statement inspired by Cold War-era 'spy games.' We would like to mention that such incidents have taken place more than once before, when our relations [with the United States] were improving," the ministry said in a statement.

A number of top Russian officials have described the move as an attempt to undermine trust in relations between Russia and the United States.

Deputy Head of the Russian Parliamentary Security Committee Nikolai Kolesnikov said the scandal was orchestrated by people whose attitude to Russia was still based on Cold War-era stereotypes.

Many people involved in U.S. politics view the recent warm spell in relations between the two countries as "inappropriate," he said.

The lawmaker expressed hope that Obama would "have enough wisdom to properly evaluate situation."

"First and foremost, this is a blow to president Obama himself," he said.

First Deputy Speaker of the Russian upper house of parliament Alexander Torshin called on the media not to over-hype the situation.

"This is not a return to the Cold War, and I am sure this incident will not turn into a large-scale spy scandal," he said.

The recent decision by the United States to put Chechen militant leader Doku Umarov on their international terrorist list is a "serious sign" that relations between Moscow and Washington had reached an "unprecedentedly high level," he said.

Three separate court hearings over the spy scandal were held in New York, Alexandria (Virginia) and Boston (Massachusetts) on Monday. Bloomberg said the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York had refused to release on bail five of the detainees. The results of the two other cases were not reported.

According to U.S. law, those found guilty of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the U.S. Attorney General face a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Those found guilty of conspiracy to commit money laundering face 20 years.

The evidence submitted by the FBI to the court indicates that some of the suspects were in contact with Russian "state officials," including diplomats from Russia's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York from 2004 to the beginning of 2010.

Comes at a bit of a troublesome time, as the U.S. is busy trying to pressure Russia on both Iran and North Korea. Though I doubt theres ever a "proper" time to arrest spies.

[Samuel]

I hate to tell you this comrade, but it has already been posted.

http://bbs.stardestroyer.net/viewtopic. ... 2&t=143422

[K. A. Pital]

Your friendly Russian spy merged your threads.

[PeZook]

Your friendly Russian spy merged your threads.

You're posting from China, right?

There's a chance this sentence could be slightly misunderstood

But more on topic, I have to wonder if it's really just a culmination of a longer effort, or a carefully timed event? An effort to extract some sort of concession, perhaps (tacit or official)?

[fgalkin]

I do not think we have heard the entire story yet. There is something quite fishy about this whole affair.

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

[CaptainChewbacca]

It rather seems like a group of people hired to imitate cold-war era spies as some sort of distraction. Invisible ink? Who does that anymore?

[PeZook]

It rather seems like a group of people hired to imitate cold-war era spies as some sort of distraction. Invisible ink? Who does that anymore?

Don't diss simple tools or techniques ; They're more useful than you might think.

[The Guid]

is any of that illegal? What they are doing sounds like normal lobbying, aside from the implication that they were trying to steal American military technology.

As I understand it their "espionage" crime is that they didn't declare the local authorities )I think the attorney general) that they were agents of a foreign government - so they're chumming up with people semi in the know is considered illegal cause its done on the sly. Its also why the sentencing for the "espionage" is low compared to the money laundering.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

It's highly unlikely they would advertise what the agents managed to commit in the news article anyway. Why reveal to the world that you slipped up and what was leaked out?

[fgalkin]

Does anyone else find it to be bizzarely telling that the sentance for conspiracy to commit money laundering is quadruple the sentance for espionage?

They're not being charged with espionage, they're being charged with being an agent of a foreign government (read "lobbyist") without registering with the Attorney General.

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

[Phantasee]

So the 11th is still at large? Do you have anything you want to share with us, fgalkin? I do recall a recent photograph of you at some Council on Foreign Relations meeting...

[fgalkin]

Heh. I have an alibi

Anyways, I don't think the individuals in question are spies, and the fact that they haven't been charged as spies doesn't exactly convince me otherwise. What they really are is money launderers, possibly working for someone in the Russian government. I actually know of someone like that, a friend of a friend, who, by all appearances were a wealthy middle-aged American couple, until the Feds arrested them. To make a long story short, they also began stealing from their employers, which was a big no-no. They fled to Panama, got arrested there, were extradited to Russia, asked for political asylum in Germany, and, last I've heard they're still there fighting extradition to Russia.

Anyways, having entertained you all with that anecdote, here's some real news (and my alibi!):

NEW YORK — An alleged member of a Russian spy ring that authorities say operated under deep cover in America's suburbs vanished in Cyprus on Wednesday, a day after being released on bail.

The man, who had gone by the name Christopher Metsos and was wanted in the U.S. on charges he supplied money to the spy ring, had been arrested Tuesday in the Mediterranean island nation as he tried to board a flight for Budapest, Hungary.

On Wednesday, after a Cypriot judge had freed him on $32,500 bail, he failed to show for a required meeting with police, and authorities began searching for him.

The U.S. Justice Department and the FBI — which spent nearly a decade gathering evidence against some of the defendants in the case — refused to comment on Metsos' disappearance.

On Monday, 10 other people, most of them believed to be Russians living under assumed names, were arrested across the Northeast, accused of gathering information for Moscow on American business, scientific and political affairs while leading what appeared to be utterly ordinary suburban lives, right down to their well-kept lawns and the barbecues they threw on the Fourth of July.

Nine of the defendants were scheduled to appear before federal judges Thursday in New York, Massachusetts and Virginia. It was unclear whether Metsos' disappearance while out on bail might affect their own attempts to get out of jail pending trial.

The turn of events raised questions about why Cypriot authorities released Metsos.

"I'm truly surprised that the court issued no such detention order against an individual who is alleged to be a spy," said Ionas Nicolaou, chairman of Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee.

Andreas Pastellides, one of Metsos' lawyers in Cyprus, said: "Yes, it was a serious case, but God forbid if someone remains detained for a month until extradition proceedings can begin." He said Metsos had offered to surrender his passport and appear once a day at a local police station.

In the past, Cyprus been known as a regional hub for spies across the Mideast, since it lies near meeting point of Europe, Africa and Asia.

To the delight of New York City's tabloid press, one of the defendants arrested in the U.S. is a young and beautiful Russian redhead who went by the name Anna Chapman, spent time on the party scene in New York City and the Hamptons, and had a penchant for posting sultry photographs of herself on the Internet.

On Wednesday, her mother, Irina Kushchenko, who lives in Moscow, told The Associated Press: "Of course I believe that she's innocent." She declined further comment.

The case has left some associates of the defendants wondering whether they might have been among the plot's targets.

Court papers say one of the alleged spies, who called herself Cynthia Murphy, had been instructed by her handlers to get close to a politically connected New York financier she had met through work. New York venture capitalist Alan Patricof told The Washington Post that he believed he was that person.

He had gotten to know Murphy through her job with Morea Financial Services, a New York tax advisory firm, and was a trustee at Columbia University's graduate business school, where Murphy got a master's in business administration this spring.

On Wednesday, Patricof told the AP in a statement: "I highly doubt that I could have been an intended target."

"I met with her a limited number of times and spoke with her frequently on the phone on matters relating to my personal finances. We never — not once — discussed any matter other than my finances, and certainly she never inquired about, nor did we ever discuss, any matters relating to politics, the government, or world affairs," he said.

Another one of those arrested, a man who called himself Donald Heathfield, may have stolen the identity of a Canadian who died as a baby in Montreal in 1963. David Heathfield of Canada said his dead younger brother had the same birthdate and name as the alleged Russian spy.

"Initially I thought it was a joke and then it turned to shock," said David Heathfield, 51. He added: "With the Cold War over, I thought this spy thing was over and done with, but I guess it's still going on."

Hays reported from New York and Hadjicostis from Nicosia, Cyprus. Also contributing were Associated Press writers Cristian Salazar and Eva Dou in New York and Nataliya Vasilyeva, David Nowak and Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

[fgalkin]

Edit: Mind you, they may well turn out to be real SVR operatives. That would suggest they are laundering chekist money, possibly going all the way to the top. It's possible (but unlikely) that the FBI may have nabbed Putin's personal money launderers. The timing of the arrest after visit would also not be a coincidence.

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

[The Duchess of Zeon]

I would think that no matter what they were actually doing, their real purpose is mostly a distraction. The investigation started during the Clinton years, Fima, at least one of the articles claimed; they've been in the US doing whatever it is since the 1990s. They certainly are probably involved in money laundering but it sure must be useful to actual agents to have the FBI wasting resources on this ring.

[Stuart]

This spy ring wasn't concerned with spying per se, what they were responsible for was a multi-year process of going after university students who were on their way to becoming CIA or State Department employees in the next 10 or 20 years. Their importance was, quite literally, not what they knew but who they knew.

What triggered the arrests (11 people have been picked up, not ten) was that this ring was in the process of being disbanded. One of its key members had already fled the country (he was picked up in Cyprus on his way to Russia) and the rest were due to follow over the next few days. What this series of arrests therefore achieved was that we now have the people who know who they recruited over the last ten years of so. This allows us to roll up an entire network. It also means that, since we know who they recruited, we can feed those people false information. Even better, the Russians will not know who we identified and who we didn't, so everybody that group recruited will be seen as potentially compromised.

Since this group was being disbanded, it stands to reason that there is a replacement group in place. That's an interesting avenue of approach on its own.

[Gil Hamilton]

Interesting tack. So what they do is go to a university, sniff around to find the students who look like they are going to be up and comers, then make friends? If they are college students and the sort of people who think joining the CIA is a good idea, they aren't going to turn down a free meal at a nice resturant or a trip somewhere cool. The recruiters can even say that are perspective employers looking to get ahead on the young talent. After all, employers for companies absolutely do that (for Chemistry PhDs, at least, companies will call dibs on you up to three years before you graduate if you intend on joining industry... they don't wait until after your defense, because you'll already be hired by someone else if you are worth hiring). Then connections are made and the recruiter judges whether or not this is the sort of person who later might be useful and in the mean time, they are in contact.

[Stuart]

Interesting tack. So what they do is go to a university, sniff around to find the students who look like they are going to be up and comers, then make friends? If they are college students and the sort of people who think joining the CIA is a good idea, they aren't going to turn down a free meal at a nice resturant or a trip somewhere cool. The recruiters can even say that are perspective employers looking to get ahead on the young talent. After all, employers for companies absolutely do that (for Chemistry PhDs, at least, companies will call dibs on you up to three years before you graduate if you intend on joining industry... they don't wait until after your defense, because you'll already be hired by someone else if you are worth hiring). Then connections are made and the recruiter judges whether or not this is the sort of person who later might be useful and in the mean time, they are in contact.

Exactly. A time-honored approach. The Five Apostles were a good example of this technique in play. I'd guess quite a few people in State and the CIA are sweating copiously right now.

[Gil Hamilton]

Exactly. A time-honored approach. The Five Apostles were a good example of this technique in play. I'd guess quite a few people in State and the CIA are sweating copiously right now.

"But how was I supposed to know that a recruiter from 'Matroiskhas N Things' was a Russian spy looking to set up contacts!"

I have a question though. Is it illegal to take anything from such agents at all, or is it only illegal if you actively help them?

[PeZook]

I have a question though. Is it illegal to take anything from such agents at all, or is it only illegal if you actively help them?

I can't see how it can possibly be made illegal to take anything from spies, seeing as they, you know, lie about who they are?

I'd imagine that it becomes illegal the moment you take money in exchange for shooting information their way, since they simply have to request classified stuff eventually. Possibly even at the point where they just give you a wad of cash and promise there are no strings attached and you don't report it.

[Ilya Muromets]

Could these guys, if they really are spies, be GRU instead of SVR? IIRC, the GRU has more personnel than the SVR and would probably be more likely to be behind a foreign network of ten or more. At least, if that documentary was right.

[Simon_Jester]

I have a question though. Is it illegal to take anything from such agents at all, or is it only illegal if you actively help them?

I can't see how it can possibly be made illegal to take anything from spies, seeing as they, you know, lie about who they are?

I'd imagine that it becomes illegal the moment you take money in exchange for shooting information their way, since they simply have to request classified stuff eventually. Possibly even at the point where they just give you a wad of cash and promise there are no strings attached and you don't report it.

Well, it would be ridiculous to set things up so that interacting with spies in any way is illegal: "Your next-door neighbor you loaned hedge-clippers to is a Boravian spy, therefore you are a Boravian spy!" Not that this keeps real world totalitarian dictatorships from doing things that way.

For that matter, I'm not sure it should be illegal to interact with spies except insofar as you do something that should be illegal if you did it with a non-spy. Like taking a big pile of money from them when you're in a sensitive government position and not reporting it.