Evgeny Buryakov, Conspiring to Work for Russian Intelligence, New York 2016

A Russian banker has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for conspiring to work for Russian Intelligence without providing prior notice to the Attorney General.

Evgeny Buryakov, also known as ‘Zhenya,’ worked for a Russian bank in Manhattan and was found to have been gathering intelligence as an agent of the Russian Federation in New York.

Buryakov pleaded guilty on March 11, 2016, and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman on [current year].

The investigation found that Buryakov worked with at least two other SVR agents, Igor Sporyshev and Victor Podobnyy, and that they operated under ‘non-official cover,’ meaning they posed as private citizens.

The FBI recorded Sporyshev and Podobnyy speaking inside the SVR’s offices in New York, known as the ‘Residentura,’ after Sporyshev attempted to recruit an FBI undercover employee.

Buryakov never notified the United States Attorney General that he was an agent of the Russian Federation, which is a violation of federal law.

Buryakov’s co-conspirators, Sporyshev and Podobnyy, officially served as a Trade Representative of the Russian Federation and an Attaché to the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, respectively.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said, ‘Evgeny Buryakov, in the guise of being a legitimate banker, gathered intelligence as an agent of the Russian Federation in New York.’

Assistant Attorney General John P. Carlin added, ‘Evgeny Buryakov is being held accountable for his efforts to secretly operate as a Russian foreign intelligence officer in the United States.’

The case serves as a reminder of the importance of protecting national security and holding individuals accountable for their actions.

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