The United States Department of Justice announced on Tuesday (September 15th) the unsealing of indictments against five individuals accused of working for a Russian intelligence agency, planning surveillance, attacks, and assassination operations in the United States and other countries. The five defendants are currently on the run.
According to the indictments, the defendants include 63-year-old Russian Yuri Khrameev, a former colonel in the Russian intelligence department; his 27-year-old son Kirill Khrameev, identified as an officer in the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB); 35-year-old Cuban Oemis Romagoza Durruthy; 35-year-old Cuban Yaidel Delgado Suarez; and 22-year-old Venezuelan Angel Eduardo Castro.
The US Department of Justice stated that the network involved in the case has been active since at least 2024, operating under the command of Russian intelligence agencies, recruiting personnel within the US to surveil Russian dissidents and planning assassinations. Recently, a Russian dissident residing in Washington D.C. has become a target.
This summer, Suarez and Castro recruited a Venezuelan residing in the US to conduct surveillance at two locations related to the target individual, offering payment of $1000 to $1500. The individual subsequently provided photos and videos of the locations.
After completing the surveillance, Suarez and Castro allegedly offered the individual $40,000 to carry out the killing or disappearance of the target. When refused, the defendants attempted to find other individuals within the US to fulfill the task.
The US Department of Justice further stated that the network is also suspected of planning attacks in Europe. Last year, Kirill Khrameev recruited a US citizen to go to Lithuania to photograph and surveil a person deemed to be “anti-Russia.” Subsequently, Yuri Khrameev demanded approximately $25,000 to have the target person killed. After the refusal, Yuri suggested tasks such as arson at a warehouse or throwing incendiary devices at a power substation.
The indictments mention that Durruthy coordinated an attack in Prague, Czech Republic in June 2024, providing potential attack locations and assisting individuals involved. In September of the same year, he coordinated another attack in Lithuania.
The US Department of Justice emphasized that initially, the network primarily targeted Russian dissidents and defectors. However, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, their activities expanded to countries seen as allies of Ukraine by the Russian government.
The five defendants are charged with participating in a “terrorism financing conspiracy,” punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Yuri Khrameev, Suarez, and Castro are also charged with participating in a “contract killing conspiracy,” which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) New York Field Office Counterintelligence Division, with assistance from the Washington Field Office and the Homeland Security Investigations.