FIVE ACCUSED OF WORKING FOR RUSSIAN INTELLIGENCE CHARGED IN ALLEGED TERROR FINANCING AND MURDER-FOR-HIRE NETWORK

WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors have unsealed charges against five individuals accused of working for Russian intelligence services as part of an alleged international network that sought to finance terrorism, arrange targeted killings, recruit operatives inside the United States, and attack civilian and military infrastructure in European countries viewed as supporting Ukraine.

The Department of Justice says the five defendants remain at large. Prosecutors allege the network operated internationally and attempted to recruit people inside the United States to conduct surveillance and carry out murders on behalf of the organization.

The defendants are Yuri Khrameev, also known as “Colonel Yuri,” 63, of Russia; Kirill Khrameev, 27, of Russia; Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, 35, a Cuban national living in Russia; Yaidel Delgado Suarez, also known as “Viking,” 35, of Cuba; and Angel Eduardo Castro, 22, of Venezuela.

Federal prosecutors allege Yuri Khrameev is a former colonel in Russian intelligence who participated in efforts to recruit people to kill perceived Russian dissidents. Kirill Khrameev, his son, is alleged to be an officer of Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB. Durruthy is accused of coordinating attacks and logistics for the network, while Suarez allegedly served as a recruiter and Castro allegedly assisted efforts to recruit individuals in the United States.

According to the indictment, the alleged network has operated since at least 2024 as part of a broader effort to target Russian dissidents, defectors, and individuals or countries perceived as opposing the Russian government or supporting Ukraine.

The Justice Department alleges that members of the network attempted during the summer of 2026 to recruit a person living in the United States to surveil and kill a prominent Russian dissident believed to be residing in this country.

Suarez allegedly sent the U.S.-based individual two locations connected to the intended victim and provided instructions for conducting surveillance. Prosecutors say the individual was promised between $1,000 and $1,500 for the surveillance work and later supplied Suarez with photographs and videos of locations associated with the intended target.

Federal prosecutors allege Suarez and Castro then offered the same person $40,000 to kill or cause the disappearance of the victim.

When the individual reportedly refused to personally carry out the killing, Suarez and Castro allegedly asked whether someone else could be found to perform the attack. Suarez is also accused of claiming that other people in Mexico could potentially carry out the murder.

The indictment further alleges that Suarez attempted to recruit additional people within the United States to conduct surveillance and target other potential victims.

The U.S.-based plot was not the first alleged effort attributed to the network.

Prosecutors say that in 2025, Kirill Khrameev recruited a U.S. citizen to travel to the residence of another target in Lithuania and take photographs in exchange for approximately $200.

After that surveillance assignment was completed, prosecutors allege Kirill Khrameev introduced the person to Yuri Khrameev, whom he described as his boss and a colonel.

Yuri Khrameev allegedly offered the U.S. citizen approximately $25,000 to kill the Lithuanian target.

According to the indictment, the target was described to the recruit as someone who was criticizing Russia. Prosecutors allege Khrameev discussed possible methods of killing the person, including stabbing the victim or setting the victim on fire.

After the U.S. citizen declined to participate in the alleged killing, prosecutors say Khrameev proposed other forms of destructive activity, including setting fire to warehouses or attacking electrical substations.

The Justice Department alleges Khrameev made clear that the broader purpose was to target countries assisting Ukraine and told the recruit that serious money was available for serious work.

The allegations extend beyond attempted assassinations.

Prosecutors say Durruthy coordinated travel and logistics connected to attacks in Europe.

In June 2024, he allegedly assisted with an attack in Prague, Czechia, including by sending another participant potential attack sites and facilitating travel.

In September 2024, prosecutors allege he coordinated another attack in Lithuania, arranging travel reservations for an individual involved in the operation and maintaining communications with an individual involved in the attack.

The government also alleges that in November 2025, Durruthy communicated with Yuri Khrameev and obtained images of a residence associated with the U.S.-based victim later targeted for surveillance.

The Justice Department characterizes the charged conduct as part of an alleged Russian intelligence network that combined recruitment, surveillance, financing, logistics, assassination planning, and attacks against infrastructure across national borders.

All five defendants are charged with conspiracy to finance terrorism, which carries a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.

Yuri Khrameev, Yaidel Delgado Suarez, and Angel Eduardo Castro are additionally charged with conspiracy to commit murder for hire, which carries a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Those maximum penalties are established by federal law. Any sentence following a conviction would ultimately be determined by a federal judge based on the applicable statutes, sentencing guidelines, and circumstances of the case.

Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department’s responsibility is to prevent foreign adversaries from carrying out violence inside the United States.

FBI Director Kash Patel said the allegations demonstrate the danger posed by transnational repression and foreign efforts to target dissidents who speak against authoritarian governments.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said the defendants are accused of operating as part of a global assassination network capable of reaching inside the United States.

U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald for the Southern District of New York said the case involves allegations of terrorism financing and violence commissioned by state actors that extended into the United States.

FBI New York Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle Jr. said the investigation disrupted an alleged effort to intimidate, threaten, or kill people in the United States and abroad.

FBI Washington Assistant Director in Charge Darren B. Cox said multiple FBI offices and partner agencies worked together after the threat was identified to disrupt the alleged plans.

The investigation was conducted by the Counterintelligence Division of the FBI New York Field Office, with significant assistance from the FBI Washington Field Office and Homeland Security Investigations.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey Coyle, Kaylan E. Lasky, Adam Margulies, and Jason A. Richman of the Southern District of New York are prosecuting the case.

They are receiving assistance from Trial Attorney Andrew Briggs of the Justice Department’s Counterterrorism Section and Trial Attorney Yifei Zheng of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

The case falls into a broader national-security category known as transnational repression, in which governments or government-linked actors are accused of extending surveillance, intimidation, coercion, violence, or other forms of pressure beyond their national borders against dissidents, critics, defectors, or political opponents.

In this case, prosecutors allege that the methods went far beyond threats.

The indictment describes a network allegedly willing to pay for surveillance, recruit assassins, arrange killings, coordinate foreign attacks, and target infrastructure while operating across several countries.

The presence of U.S.-based recruitment adds a significant domestic dimension to the case. Prosecutors allege that people inside the United States were approached not simply for information but for operational surveillance and, in some instances, murder.

Those allegations remain unproven.

The indictment represents formal criminal accusations, not findings of guilt. Yuri Khrameev, Kirill Khrameev, Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, Yaidel Delgado Suarez, and Angel Eduardo Castro are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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