Igor Sporyshev (Игорь Спорышев) is a Russian intelligence officer who served officially as Trade Representative of the Russian Federation in New York from November 22, 2010, to November 21, 2014. On January 26, 2015, the U.S. Justice Department announced charges against him, Victor Podobnyy, and Evgeny Buryakov, an SVR (Foreign Intelligence Service) officer working under nonofficial cover as an employee of Vnesheconombank in Manhattan.
According to the complaint, Sporyshev relayed SVR assignments to Buryakov and, with Podobnyy, analyzed and reported Buryakov’s results back to SVR headquarters, and took part in attempts to recruit New York residents as intelligence sources. He was charged with conspiring to act, and aiding and abetting Buryakov in acting, as an unregistered agent of a foreign government. Because he had diplomatic immunity and had left the United States, he was never arrested. Buryakov pleaded guilty and was sentenced on May 25, 2016, to 30 months in prison.
Sources
- U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York. “Attorney General, Manhattan U.S. Attorney, and FBI Announce Charges Against Russian Spy Ring in New York City.” Press release, January 26, 2015.
- U.S. Department of Justice. “Russian Banker Sentenced in Connection with Conspiracy to Work for Russian Intelligence.” Press release, May 25, 2016.
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Summary entry. A fuller, document-based profile is in preparation.