Cold War 2.0 – Russian spy arrested in New York City
January 30, 2015
NEW YORK: The Cold War remains alive and well in New York City, where a trio of Russian nationals were acting as spies, federal investigators said Monday. ”The arrest of Evgeny Buryakov and the charges against him and his co-defendants make clear that – more than two decades after the presumptive end of the Cold War – Russian spies continue to seek to operate in our midst under cover of secrecy” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said.
FBI agents on Monday arrested an alleged Russian spy in the Bronx who they said attempted to recruit New York City residents as intelligence sources and gather intelligence on behalf of the Russian Federation. Evgeny Buryakov, 39, allegedly posed as an employee in the Manhattan office of a Russian bank when he was actually working on behalf of the Russian government, according to the feds. Two others charged in the case — Igor Sporyshev and Victor Podobnyy — no longer live in the U.S. Both were protected by diplomatic immunity when they lived in the U.S. because they were in the country officially on behalf of Russia. But federal prosecutors said they were not allowed to “conspire with, or aid and abet” Buryakov, as he worked as an unregistered agent.