Russian Spy Mariia Butina Charged With Conspiracy, Working in United States

WASHINGTON – A federal criminal complaint was unsealed Monday in the District of Columbia charging a Russian national with conspiracy to act as an agent of the Russian Federation within the United States.

The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jessie K. Liu and Nancy McNamara, assistant director in charge of the FBI's Washington Field Office.

Mariia Butina, a 29-year-old Russian citizen residing in the nation's capital, was arrested on July 15, 2018, in Washington, DC.

According to court records, from 2015 and continuing through at least February 2017, Butina worked at the direction of a high-level official in the Russian government who was previously a member of the legislature of the Russian Federation and later became a top official at the Russian Central Bank.

This Russian official was sanctioned by the US Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control in April 2018.

The court records state Butina was acting as an agent of Russia inside the United States by developing relationships with US persons and infiltrating organizations having influence in American politics for the purpose of advancing the interests of the Russian Federation.

The filings also describe certain actions taken by Butina to further this effort during multiple visits from Russia and, later, when she entered and resided in the US on a student visa.

The maximum penalty for conspiracy is five years in prison.

Butina is behind bars, pending a hearing set for July 18, 2018.