US Alleges Russian Spies Orchestrated $40K Murder Plot in Washington

U.S. prosecutors have accused Russian intelligence operatives of orchestrating a murder-for-hire plot targeting a Kremlin critic believed to be residing in Washington, D.C. The alleged conspiracy, detailed in unsealed court documents, is described as part of a broader international network directed by Moscow to carry out assassinations and terrorist attacks.

Five men have been charged in connection with the plot. Prosecutors allege they worked for Russian intelligence services and were involved in attempting to pay individuals in the U.S. and abroad to conduct surveillance and carry out killings of Russian dissidents. Three of the defendants also face conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire charges. All five individuals remain at large, according to the Justice Department.

The alleged operation reportedly reached the nation's capital in late August. Suspected Russian intelligence operatives are accused of directing a U.S.-based Venezuelan citizen to covertly film two Washington-area locations associated with a Kremlin critic. Subsequently, the individual was allegedly offered $40,000 to commit the murder. The recruit reportedly completed the surveillance but declined to carry out the killing themselves.

Prosecutors contend that the five defendants are members or associates of a Russian intelligence-directed network involved in financing terrorism and coordinating violent operations across multiple countries. The indictment states that conspirators used coded language, referring to assassination as "construction" and surveillance as "measuring a plot of land."

Following the recruit's refusal to commit the murder, the network allegedly sought other U.S.-based recruits and indicated that "people in Mexico" were also available for the task. In addition to the alleged plot in Washington, the indictment accuses network members of supporting attacks on civilian and military infrastructure in Europe and conducting surveillance of Russian dissidents abroad.

This case represents one of the most serious publicly alleged Russian intelligence operations targeting an individual within the U.S. in recent years. The indictment names five individuals: Yuri Khrameev, identified as a former Russian intelligence colonel; his son, Kirill Khrameev, an officer in Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB); Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, a Cuban national residing in Russia accused of coordinating network attacks; Yaidel Delgado Suarez, known as "Viking"; and Angel Eduardo Castro.

Russia has a history of accusations from Western governments regarding the targeting of political opponents and defectors abroad. A notable instance includes the 2018 poisoning of former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, England, with a Novichok nerve agent, an attack for which British authorities blamed Russian military intelligence.

U.S. officials have previously accused Russia of orchestrating killings of Kremlin critics overseas and conducting covert espionage operations within the United States. However, prosecutors assert that the alleged Washington murder plot is a rare instance of Russian operatives attempting to recruit someone on U.S. soil to carry out an assassination.

According to the indictment, the alleged Washington murder plot was part of a broader Russian intelligence campaign active since at least 2024. The indictment also details a previous incident in which the same network allegedly recruited a U.S. citizen in Lithuania to surveil another Kremlin critic and offered approximately $25,000 for their assassination, an offer that was also refused.

Following these failed assassination attempts, prosecutors state the network shifted its focus to soliciting sabotage attacks against infrastructure in countries supporting Ukraine. These alleged plots reportedly targeted electrical substations, warehouses, and transportation hubs.

The indictment emerges as Western governments have issued warnings about Russia's expanded use of covert operations, sabotage, and assassination plots beyond the battlefield since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Prosecutors allege the network began targeting countries perceived as aligned with Ukraine.