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10 Alleged Russian Spies Arrested in United States

   VOA News 28 June 2010
   Exterior of the River House Apartments in Arlington Va., 28 Jun 2010

Photo: AP

   Exterior of the River House Apartments in Arlington Va., 28 Jun 2010

   The  U.  S.  Justice  Department has announced the arrest of 10 people
   accused of spying for Russia.
   Eight  of  those  arrested  on  Sunday  are  charged with carrying out
   long-term,  deep  cover  assignments in the United States on behalf of
   the Russian Federation.
   A  total  of  11  are  accused  of  involvement in the spy ring.  One
   remains at large.
   In  court  papers,  the  Justice Department described those charged as
   "illegals,"  whose  goal  was to become sufficiently "Americanized" so
   that they could gather information about the United States for Russia.
   It  said  the Russian intelligence agency SVR had tasked them with one
   main mission - to "search and develop ties in policymaking circles" in
   the United States.
   The  arrests  took  place  in  the  states  of  New  York, New Jersey,
   Massachusetts and Virginia.  All those taken into custody are charged
   with  conspiracy  to  act  as an agent of a foreign government without
   notifying the U.S. Attorney General.  All but two are also accused of
   money laundering.
   The conspiracy charge carries a maximum of five years in prison, while
   the money laundering charge carries a 20-year maximum sentence.

   Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

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