The $40,000 Kill Order That Reached Washington: DOJ Says Russian Spy Network Tried to Recruit an Assassin on U.S. Soil

Federal authorities have unveiled allegations that read more like an international espionage thriller than an ordinary criminal case: a Russian intelligence network allegedly attempted to recruit people inside the United States to surveil and murder a prominent Russian dissident believed to be living in the Washington, D.C., area.

The Justice Department announced Sept. 15 that five individuals accused of working with Russian intelligence services have been charged in connection with what prosecutors describe as a broader international network involved in targeted killings, surveillance and attacks against infrastructure. The defendants remain at large, and the charges are allegations that must be proven in court.

According to the indictment, the alleged network has operated since at least 2024 and focused initially on Russian dissidents and defectors before expanding toward targets in countries viewed by Moscow as supporting Ukraine. U.S. prosecutors describe the organization as the “Russian Intelligence Services Network,” or RIS Network.

A plot that allegedly reached Washington

The most striking allegation involves a person living in the United States who was recruited this summer to conduct surveillance on a prominent Russian dissident.

Prosecutors say one of the alleged recruiters provided the individual with two locations associated with the intended target and detailed instructions for gathering photographs and video. The individual allegedly completed the surveillance and sent the material back to the network.

The operation then allegedly escalated.

According to the Justice Department, two members of the network offered the U.S.-based recruit $40,000 to “eliminate” or “disappear” the target. When the person declined to personally carry out the killing, prosecutors allege the recruiters asked whether he knew somebody else who would do it.

Fox News reported that prosecutors say the surveillance occurred around Washington in late August and that the intended victim was a Kremlin critic believed to be living in the region.

The indictment also describes efforts to conceal the alleged operation. Prosecutors say conspirators used coded terminology for surveillance and assassination and instructed a recruit on techniques designed to reduce detection while recording locations associated with the target.

FBI says the operation was disrupted

Federal officials are portraying the case as a significant counterintelligence operation.

FBI Washington Field Office Assistant Director in Charge Darren B. Cox said multiple FBI offices and partner agencies worked together to disrupt what authorities describe as Russian-directed efforts to conduct violence in Washington and elsewhere in the United States.

Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department's responsibility is to prevent foreign adversaries from bringing violence onto American soil, while Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg characterized the alleged effort as a violation of U.S. sovereignty and a national-security threat.

Those statements are the government's characterization of the case; the defendants have not been convicted.

Prosecutors describe something much larger than one assassination attempt

The Washington allegations are only one part of the case.

Federal prosecutors say the same network previously targeted another Russian critic overseas. In that episode, a U.S. citizen in Lithuania was allegedly offered approximately $25,000 to kill another individual accused by the network of criticizing Russia. When the recruit refused, prosecutors say he was offered other assignments involving possible attacks on warehouses or electrical infrastructure.

The Justice Department alleges the network also sought attacks against civilian and military infrastructure in European countries viewed as supporting Ukraine.

That broader allegation matters because it suggests investigators are not describing a single isolated murder plot. They say they uncovered a network capable of recruiting people internationally for surveillance, targeted killings and sabotage.

Who has been charged?

The indictment identifies five alleged members or associates of the network.

Among them is Yuri Khrameev, described by prosecutors as a former Russian intelligence colonel known as “Colonel Yuri.” His son, Kirill Khrameev, is identified by prosecutors as an officer in Russia's Federal Security Service, or FSB.

The other defendants are Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, Yaidel Delgado Suarez — also known as “Viking” — and Angel Eduardo Castro. Prosecutors allege different members played roles in recruiting people, coordinating operations and targeting dissidents.

Three defendants also face conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire charges. The Justice Department says that count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, although any sentence would ultimately be determined by a judge following a conviction.

A reminder that foreign conflicts can reach American soil

The allegations highlight a national-security challenge that extends well beyond traditional espionage.

If prosecutors prove the case, the alleged operation would show foreign intelligence actors attempting not merely to gather information inside the United States, but to recruit people here for violence against individuals living under American jurisdiction.

For now, the most important distinction is between allegation and established fact. The indictment represents the government's case, the five defendants remain at large, and under U.S. law they are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

What is already clear from the public record is that the Justice Department and FBI considered the alleged operation serious enough to involve multiple field offices, counterintelligence investigators, Homeland Security Investigations and federal national-security prosecutors.

And according to those agencies, the immediate plot was disrupted before the alleged $40,000 assassination offer became a killing on the streets of America's capital.