WASHINGTON, Sept. 17 (DC Times Online) — Federal prosecutors allege that five men tied to Russian intelligence services took part in a network that tried to locate and kill a Russian dissident believed to be living in the Washington, D.C., area.
The allegations are contained in an indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court. Prosecutors say the alleged network offered $40,000 to an American-based recruit to carry out the killing after he completed surveillance of two locations connected to the intended victim.
The case remains an accusation. The defendants have not been convicted, and the supplied court and law-enforcement accounts do not include responses from defense lawyers or the defendants.
Who was charged?
The indictment names Yuri “Colonel Yuri” Khrameev, Kirill Khrameev, Yaidel “Viking” Delgado Suarez, Oemis Romagoza Durruthy and Angel Eduardo Castro as defendants.
All five face a charge of conspiring to finance terrorism, according to the indictment and federal authorities. Khrameev, Suarez and Castro also face conspiracy charges related to murder-for-hire.
The case was filed in Manhattan federal court, although prosecutors say part of the alleged conduct involved surveillance in the Washington area. The defendants remain at large, according to federal authorities.
What is the alleged Washington plot?
Prosecutors say a Venezuelan citizen living in Brooklyn was recruited during the summer of 2026 to photograph and record two locations associated with the unnamed Russian dissident. He was allegedly promised between $1,000 and $1,500 for the surveillance.
The indictment says the recruit completed that assignment. Prosecutors then allege that he was offered $40,000 to kill the dissident, but declined. The alleged recruiters later sought other people in the United States to carry out the killing.
The intended victim has not been publicly identified in the supplied court accounts. The locations also have not been disclosed.
The alleged instructions included placing the recruit’s phone in airplane mode, recording video while passing a target location and deleting messages afterward. Prosecutors say the word “construction” was used as coded language for the planned killing.
The FBI said it disrupted the alleged Washington plot. The supplied accounts do not explain how the disruption occurred.
What is the broader allegation?
Prosecutors allege that the group had operated since at least 2024 and was connected to a wider effort involving surveillance, planned killings and attacks on civilian and military infrastructure in European countries aligned with, or perceived to be aligned with, Ukraine.
The indictment describes the defendants as part of a network linked to Russian intelligence services. That connection, like the other allegations in the case, must be proved in court.
The Justice Department has not publicly identified the dissident or provided, in the supplied material, the full case caption, docket number or the name of the judge assigned to the case.
What happens next?
The indictment begins a criminal case; it does not establish that the alleged plot succeeded or that any defendant committed the charged offenses. Prosecutors would have to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt if the defendants are brought before the court.
The supplied reports do not indicate that any of the five men has been arrested. They also do not include public statements from defense counsel.
