11:02 18.07.2018

Russian woman arrested in U.S. charged with 2 counts - court documents

2 min read
Russian woman arrested in U.S. charged with 2 counts - court documents

Russian citizen Maria Butina, who was recently arrested in the United States, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on two charges, i.e. engaging in conspiracy against the U.S. and acting as an unregistered foreign agent of the Russian government, as is seen from documents available on the website of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The U.S. Department of Justice charged Butina, 29, on July 16 with conspiracy to act as an agent of the Russian Federation within the United States without prior notification to the Attorney General and with acting in this capacity.

The investigation determined that, from as early as 2015, Butina worked at the direction of a high-level Russian official by developing "relationships with U.S. persons and infiltrating organizations having influence in American politics, for the purpose of advancing the interests of the Russian Federation."

If found guilty of conspiracy, a person may face a fine or imprisonment for up to five years. Acting as a foreign agent without notifying the attorney general carries a fine or imprisonment for up to ten years. At the same time, the charges brought against Butina are not qualified as spying.

The Russian embassy to the U.S. said the authorities barred Russian consular officials from seeing Butina.

"Up to present, we have not been provided with such an opportunity. The embassy will continue to seek to defend Russian citizen Maria Butina's rights using all lawful methods," the embassy said.

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