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Evgeny Buryakov Pleads Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court for Conspiracy to Work for Russian Intelligence
Evgeny Buryakov, a/k/a ‘Zhenya,’ has pleaded guilty to conspiring to act in the United States as an agent of the Russian Federation, without providing prior notice to the Attorney General.
In a shocking turn of events, Buryakov, a Russian national, worked in the United States as an agent of Russia’s foreign intelligence agency, known as the ‘SVR.’
According to the Complaint, the Indictment, other court filings, and statements made during court proceedings, Buryakov operated under ‘non-official cover,’ meaning he entered and remained in the United States as a private citizen, posing as an employee in the Manhattan office of a Russian bank, Vnesheconombank, also known as ‘VEB.’
SVR agents operating under such non-official cover – sometimes referred to as ‘NOCs’ – typically are subject to less scrutiny by the host government, and, in many cases, are never identified as intelligence agents by the host government.
Buryakov worked in New York with at least two other SVR agents, Igor Sporyshev and Victor Podobnyy. From November 22, 2010, to November 21, 2014, Sporyshev officially served as a trade representative of the Russian Federation in New York. From December 13, 2012, to September 12, 2013, Podobnyy officially served as an attaché to the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations.
Buryakov pleaded guilty to conspiring to act in the United States as an agent of the Russian Federation, without providing prior notice to the Attorney General. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
The investigation, however, showed that Sporyshev and Podobnyy also worked as officers of the SVR. For their roles in the charged conspiracy, Sporyshev and Podobnyy were charged along with Buryakov in January 2015. However, Sporyshev and Podobnyy no longer lived in the United States and thus were not arrested.
The FBI obtained recordings of Sporyshev and Podobnyy speaking inside the SVR’s offices in New York, known as the ‘Residentura.’
Buryakov’s co-conspirators, Sporyshev and Podobnyy, were charged along with Buryakov in January 2015. However, Sporyshev and Podobnyy no longer lived in the United States and thus were not arrested.
Buryakov is scheduled to be sentenced on November 17, 2016.
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Public Corruption
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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