US announces indictment in New York-Russian spy ring case

(The Philippine Star)

February 10, 2015 - 8:50am

Yevgeny Buryakov, right, listens as Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Fee, left, makes his case Monday, Jan 26, 2015, in New York at the federal court in Manhattan against Buryakov, whom Fee portrayed as a professional spy skilled at duplicity who posed as an employee in the Manhattan branch of a Russian bank while living in the Bronx with his Russian wife and two children. Buryakov was arrested earlier in the day in connection with a Cold War-style Russian spy ring that authorities said spoke in code, passed messages concealed in bags and magazines, and tried to recruit people with ties to an unnamed New York City university. At center is Federal Defender attorney Sabrina Shroff. AP/Elizabeth Williams

NEW YORK — A Russian citizen who worked in New York as a banker has been indicted on charges accusing him of participating in a Cold War-style Russian spy ring.

The two-count indictment returned Monday in Manhattan federal court says Evgeny Buryakov and two others conspired to spy and acted as spies.

Prosecutors say that from 2012 through January, Buryakov teamed up with low-level diplomats to gather sensitive economic intelligence on potential U.S. sanctions against Russian banks. Prosecutors say they also tried to recruit others.

At the time, Buryakov worked at the Manhattan branch of a Russian bank. The low-level diplomats, though charged, are believed to have returned to Russia and are protected by immunity because of their diplomatic status.

Buryakov's lawyer did not immediately respond to an email from The Associate Press seeking comment.

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