Key takeaways:
- Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov, 37, had been living under the alias Victor Muller Ferreira in the United States since 2018.
- Prosecutors allege that Cherkasov was gathering information on U.S. foreign policy before his cover was blown.
- The arrest of Cherkasov is part of a larger effort by the U.S. to combat Russian intelligence operations in the United States.
A Russian intelligence officer has been charged in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for acting as an illegal agent of a Russian intelligence service. Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov, 37, had been living under the alias Victor Muller Ferreira in the United States since 2018.
According to the Justice Department, Cherkasov had established the alias in Brazil, where he pretended to be the son of a deceased Brazilian national. He then moved to the US under the guise of attending graduate school in Washington, DC.
Prosecutors allege that Cherkasov was gathering information on U.S. foreign policy before his cover was blown. CNN reported that “Muller” had been well-liked by his classmates in the US, but that his accent had caught some of their attention.
Russia has been trying to extradite Cherkasov, claiming that he is wanted in Russia for narcotics trafficking. However, the Justice Department has charged him with acting as an illegal agent of a Russian intelligence service.
The arrest of Cherkasov is part of a larger effort by the U.S. to combat Russian intelligence operations in the United States. The Justice Department has warned that foreign intelligence services are increasingly targeting the U.S. and its allies.
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