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Ten arrested in U.S. on charges of spying for Russia.,US spy accusations baseless:RU
U.S. has arrested 10 individuals including eight "deep cover" agents on charges of spying for Russia; reminding the espionages episodes of the cold war era.
The arrests were made on Sunday and Monday in Boston, New York, New Jersey and Virginia, the Department of Justice announced on Tuesday alleging that the group dubbed the "Illegals" was tasked by the Russian intelligence agency SVR to enter the U.S., assume false identities and carry out espionage activities.
"These Russian secret agents work to hide all connections between themselves and Russia, even as they act at the directions and under the control of SVR, these secrets agents are typically called "illegals", the FBI said in its complaint filed before a U.S. court on Tuesday.
"Illegals" agents of the SVR generally receive extensive training before coming to the U.S.
This training has typically focused on, among other things, including the use of brush-passes, short-wave radio operation and invisible writing; the use of codes and ciphers, including the use of encrypted Morse code messages, the creation and use of a cover profession; counter-surveillance measures, concealment and destruction of equipment, and materials used in connection with their work as agents and avoidance of detection during their work as agents," the FBI alleged.
Each of those charge sheeted — eleven in all including 10 arrested — faces up to five years in prison.
Nine of them have also been charge sheeted for money laundering, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years of imprisonment.
One of the defendants remains at large.
The FBI said the arrests are a result of multi-year investigations.
In a coded message in 2009, two of those charge sheeted were by their bosses in Russia to search and develop ties in policymaking circles in US and send intelligence reports to the Centre — the SVR headquarters.
The charge sheet alleges that several of those arrested had received money from the Russian missions in the US dating back to January 14, 2000.
The money at times were buried in the ground.
"To further the aims of the conspiracy, Moscow Centre has arranged for the defendants clandestinely to communicate with the Russian Federation.
In particular the conspirators have used, among other things, the secret communications methods — stenganography and radiograms," it said.
Those charged include: Christopher Metsos, Richard Murphy, Cynthia Murphy, Donald Heathfield, Tracey Lee Ann Foley, Michael Zottoli, Patricia Mills, Juan Lazaro, Vicky Pelaez, Anna Chapman and Mikhail Semenko.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article491734.ece
US spy accusations baseless, improper: Russia
MOSCOW: Russia on Tuesday said US allegations that it had broken up a major Russian spy ring just days after President Dmitry Medvedev met Barack Obama in Washington were baseless and improper.
US authorities said on Monday they had arrested 10 suspected spies who had recruited political sources and gathered information for the Russian government.
"Such actions are baseless and improper," the foreign ministry said in a statement. "We do not understand what prompted the US justice department to make a public statement in the spirit of Cold War espionage."
"We deeply regret that all of this has happened against the background of the relations reset declared by the US administration," it said.
US authorities have charged 11 individuals with carrying out deep-cover work in the United States to recruit political sources and gather information for the Russian government.
The individuals were accused of collecting information ranging from research programmes on small-yield, high-penetration nuclear warheads, the global gold market and trying to obtain background on people who applied for jobs at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), according to criminal complaints filed in a US federal court.
The justice department accused them of operating under orders of Russia's SVR agency as "illegals"; the term applied in the intelligence world to agents infiltrated to live and operate under false identities, rather than officers who use diplomatic cover or other legitimate cover.
Authorities said 10 of them were arrested on Sunday in Boston, New York, New Jersey and Virginia on charges including conspiracy to act as unlawful agents of the Russian Federation and money laundering.
Moscow has repeatedly accused Western powers of maintaining spying operations against Russia despite the end of the Cold War. Western powers also complain of Russian activity, especially in the commercial and scientific area.
Blow to Obama
The allegations come just days after Obama hailed a "reset" in ties between the former Cold War rivals when the two leaders met in Washington.
Medvedev last week toured the United States to try to show that Russia is building an innovative, investor-friendly economy. The US justice department announced the arrests hours after Medvedev returned to Russia from a G20 summit in Toronto, which was also attended by Obama.
"The choice of timing was particularly graceful," foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told journalists during a trip to Jerusalem.
Russian analysts said the timing suggested it was an attempt by US officials to undermine the reset, which Obama's administration has hailed as a major foreign policy achievement.
"It's is a slap in the face to Barack Obama," said Anatoly Tsyganok, a political analyst at Moscow's Institute of Political and Military Analysis. Russia will inevitably follow Cold War etiquette and uncover an equal number of US spies, he said.
The chief spokesman for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said he had no comment on the spying allegations and said the allegations were unlikely to be discussed during Putin's meeting on Tuesday with former US President Bill Clinton in Moscow.
The chief spokesman for the SVR foreign intelligence service, Sergei Ivanov, said: "There will be no comment."
The goal of the alleged spies was to "become sufficiently 'Americanised' such that they could gather information about the United States for Russia and can successfully recruit sources who are in, or are able to infiltrate, United States policy-making circles", according to court papers.
One alleged spy was accused of sending back information about leadership changes at the CIA.
The US justice department said they received extensive training in coded communications, how to evade detection and how to pass messages to other agents while casually brushing past them in public places.
The arrests are the culmination of a multi-year investigation that used extensive surveillance of communications and wiretaps, including putting listening devices into the homes of the accused individuals, the justice department said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...eless-improper-Russia/articleshow/6106337.cms
U.S. has arrested 10 individuals including eight "deep cover" agents on charges of spying for Russia; reminding the espionages episodes of the cold war era.
The arrests were made on Sunday and Monday in Boston, New York, New Jersey and Virginia, the Department of Justice announced on Tuesday alleging that the group dubbed the "Illegals" was tasked by the Russian intelligence agency SVR to enter the U.S., assume false identities and carry out espionage activities.
"These Russian secret agents work to hide all connections between themselves and Russia, even as they act at the directions and under the control of SVR, these secrets agents are typically called "illegals", the FBI said in its complaint filed before a U.S. court on Tuesday.
"Illegals" agents of the SVR generally receive extensive training before coming to the U.S.
This training has typically focused on, among other things, including the use of brush-passes, short-wave radio operation and invisible writing; the use of codes and ciphers, including the use of encrypted Morse code messages, the creation and use of a cover profession; counter-surveillance measures, concealment and destruction of equipment, and materials used in connection with their work as agents and avoidance of detection during their work as agents," the FBI alleged.
Each of those charge sheeted — eleven in all including 10 arrested — faces up to five years in prison.
Nine of them have also been charge sheeted for money laundering, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years of imprisonment.
One of the defendants remains at large.
The FBI said the arrests are a result of multi-year investigations.
In a coded message in 2009, two of those charge sheeted were by their bosses in Russia to search and develop ties in policymaking circles in US and send intelligence reports to the Centre — the SVR headquarters.
The charge sheet alleges that several of those arrested had received money from the Russian missions in the US dating back to January 14, 2000.
The money at times were buried in the ground.
"To further the aims of the conspiracy, Moscow Centre has arranged for the defendants clandestinely to communicate with the Russian Federation.
In particular the conspirators have used, among other things, the secret communications methods — stenganography and radiograms," it said.
Those charged include: Christopher Metsos, Richard Murphy, Cynthia Murphy, Donald Heathfield, Tracey Lee Ann Foley, Michael Zottoli, Patricia Mills, Juan Lazaro, Vicky Pelaez, Anna Chapman and Mikhail Semenko.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article491734.ece
US spy accusations baseless, improper: Russia
MOSCOW: Russia on Tuesday said US allegations that it had broken up a major Russian spy ring just days after President Dmitry Medvedev met Barack Obama in Washington were baseless and improper.
US authorities said on Monday they had arrested 10 suspected spies who had recruited political sources and gathered information for the Russian government.
"Such actions are baseless and improper," the foreign ministry said in a statement. "We do not understand what prompted the US justice department to make a public statement in the spirit of Cold War espionage."
"We deeply regret that all of this has happened against the background of the relations reset declared by the US administration," it said.
US authorities have charged 11 individuals with carrying out deep-cover work in the United States to recruit political sources and gather information for the Russian government.
The individuals were accused of collecting information ranging from research programmes on small-yield, high-penetration nuclear warheads, the global gold market and trying to obtain background on people who applied for jobs at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), according to criminal complaints filed in a US federal court.
The justice department accused them of operating under orders of Russia's SVR agency as "illegals"; the term applied in the intelligence world to agents infiltrated to live and operate under false identities, rather than officers who use diplomatic cover or other legitimate cover.
Authorities said 10 of them were arrested on Sunday in Boston, New York, New Jersey and Virginia on charges including conspiracy to act as unlawful agents of the Russian Federation and money laundering.
Moscow has repeatedly accused Western powers of maintaining spying operations against Russia despite the end of the Cold War. Western powers also complain of Russian activity, especially in the commercial and scientific area.
Blow to Obama
The allegations come just days after Obama hailed a "reset" in ties between the former Cold War rivals when the two leaders met in Washington.
Medvedev last week toured the United States to try to show that Russia is building an innovative, investor-friendly economy. The US justice department announced the arrests hours after Medvedev returned to Russia from a G20 summit in Toronto, which was also attended by Obama.
"The choice of timing was particularly graceful," foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told journalists during a trip to Jerusalem.
Russian analysts said the timing suggested it was an attempt by US officials to undermine the reset, which Obama's administration has hailed as a major foreign policy achievement.
"It's is a slap in the face to Barack Obama," said Anatoly Tsyganok, a political analyst at Moscow's Institute of Political and Military Analysis. Russia will inevitably follow Cold War etiquette and uncover an equal number of US spies, he said.
The chief spokesman for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said he had no comment on the spying allegations and said the allegations were unlikely to be discussed during Putin's meeting on Tuesday with former US President Bill Clinton in Moscow.
The chief spokesman for the SVR foreign intelligence service, Sergei Ivanov, said: "There will be no comment."
The goal of the alleged spies was to "become sufficiently 'Americanised' such that they could gather information about the United States for Russia and can successfully recruit sources who are in, or are able to infiltrate, United States policy-making circles", according to court papers.
One alleged spy was accused of sending back information about leadership changes at the CIA.
The US justice department said they received extensive training in coded communications, how to evade detection and how to pass messages to other agents while casually brushing past them in public places.
The arrests are the culmination of a multi-year investigation that used extensive surveillance of communications and wiretaps, including putting listening devices into the homes of the accused individuals, the justice department said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...eless-improper-Russia/articleshow/6106337.cms
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