Recent Russian Intelligence Operations

[davidbfpo]

Kevin,

I am struck by the timing, especially as the BBC report implies deep cover agents at work for a very long time.

All of the arrested suspects, except Ms Chapman and Mr Semenko, have also been charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Our correspondent says the arrests will come as quite a surprise, as relations between Washington and Moscow have warmed considerably in recent months. Just last week, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was in Washington having lunch with President Barack Obama.

It is still unclear how the White House will react or how Russia will explain this, she adds.

Link:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/us_...a/10442223.stm

I assume the FBI would consult with the Attorney-General before taking action. Curious the money laundering charges for most of them.

[Kevin23]

Kevin,

I am struck by the timing, especially as the BBC report implies deep cover agents at work for a very long time.



Link:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/us_...a/10442223.stm

I assume the FBI would consult with the Attorney-General before taking action. Curious the money laundering charges for most of them.

From the sounds of it davidbfpo I would have to agree with you.

However, I'm curious if these agents for the Russian Government were US- born American citizens or Russian nationals who immigrated who settled in the United States?

I ask because from the names listed many of them sounds like they are indeed US born citizens.

Also from a political POV I wonder how deep this discovery runs and whether these agents did obtain any success in their mission goals. In addition to add on to this, what will the damage to the Obama Administration's attempts at "resetting relations with Russia" be.

[bourbon]

FBI Affidavit (37 page PDF) courtesy of the Globe

FBI bagged one couple Sunday morning at Harvard Square in Boston; naturally they lived in the People's Republic of Cambridge.

However, I'm curious if these agents for the Russian Government were US- born American citizens or Russian nationals who immigrated who settled in the United States?

I ask because from the names listed many of them sounds like they are indeed US born citizens.

Looks like Russian born SVR Directorate 'S' "Illegals", trained to penetrate their target country by assuming a native identity. Completely new names and everything. It takes a very long time to train and then seed these operatives, and they are often the most elite of SVR recruits.

They are frequently paired-up as couples, but sometimes operate solo. The Canadians nabbed an illegal operating solo around 2005-06.

[Dayuhan]

I am struck by the timing, especially as the BBC report implies deep cover agents at work for a very long time.

I'd guess the FBI has known about this for some time. I don't think they'd normally roll a network like this up right away, first impulse would be to try to use it to pass disinformation. The arrests suggest that any possible such use was not seen as particularly valuable, and of course that the timing was seen as useful.

If the Russians make arrests to trade they will have to admit that this was in fact a spy network, so far they don't seem to be doing that. We'll see...

Much of the media attention seems to be driven by the fact that one of the alleged spies is female and hot. Some things get more attention than others...

[AdamG]

Russian spy ring: fact, parody and nostalgia
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010...rody-nostalgia

The creator of Spooks on the Russian espionage scandal, its nostalgic spycraft and how fact can be less credible than fiction

Also, a swanky spreadsheet on Googledocs of the 11 spies -
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?k...NTV9LZ3c#gid=0

[AdamG]

NEW YORK (AP) -- An alleged member of a Russian spy ring that authorities say operated under deep cover in America's suburbs vanished in Cyprus on Wednesday, a day after being released on bail.

The man, who had gone by the name Christopher Metsos and was wanted in the U.S. on charges he supplied money to the spy ring, had been arrested Tuesday in the Mediterranean island nation as he tried to board a flight for Budapest, Hungary.

On Wednesday, after a Cypriot judge had freed him on $32,500 bail, he failed to show for a required meeting with police, and authorities began searching for him.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...TAM&SECTION=US

[Kevin23]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...TAM&SECTION=US

Here is a further story on Mr. "Christopher Mestos" from the Cyprus Mail

http://www.cyprus-mail.com/cyprus/va...-bail/20100701

[bourbon]

As the story of the SVR illegals played out this past week, I trolled Google News searching for insight from former SVR officer Sergei Tretyakov to no avail. Sergei Tretyakov may be the most important spy for the United States since the end of the Cold War; it is believed that he spent 3 years as a US agent while he was still an SVR colonel in New York before he defected.

So it is with great regret to learn that Sergei Tretyakov, at the age of 53, died June 13 of a heart attack at his home in Florida. Rest in peace, Comrade J.

Sergei Tretyakov, Spy Who Fled to U.S., Dies at 53, The New York Times, July 9, 2010.
Sergei Tretyakov dies; former Russian spy defected to U.S. in 2000, The Washington Post, July 10, 2010.
Sergei Tretyakov, Russian Spy ‘Comrade J,’ Dead at 53, PeteEarley.com, July 9, 2010.
Sergei’s Death. Mistakes. Nonsense and a Chuckle, PeteEarley.com, July 10, 2010.

The story of Sergei Tretyakov is told in Comrade J.: The Untold Secrets of Russia's Master Spy in America after the End of the Cold War by veteran intelligence journalist Pete Early. Tretyakov also gave an extensive interview over a series of reports by WTOP titled "Escaping from the Iron Curtain".

[bourbon]

Report Points to Russian Double Agent, by Clifford J. Levy. The New York Times, November 11, 2010.

MOSCOW — A Russian newspaper reported Thursday that a senior official in Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service had provided the information that enabled the United States to break up a ring of Russian sleeper spies in June.

The turncoat official, identified only as Colonel Shcherbakov, was said to have defected to the United States just before the arrests and was now being tracked by a Russian assassination squad, according to the newspaper, Kommersant, considered one of Russia’s most authoritative.