US Charges Five with Orchestrating $40,000 Assassination Plot Against Kremlin Critic in DC
The US Department of Justice has unsealed an indictment charging five individuals with conspiring to commit murder for hire and finance terrorism on behalf of Russian intelligence services. The plot, which targeted a Kremlin critic living in Washington, DC, involved recruiting a Venezuelan citizen to surveil the target and offering him $40,000 to carry out the assassination. Although the recruit completed the surveillance, he refused to kill the target, leading the network to seek other operatives in the US and Mexico. Prosecutors allege this was part of a broader global network active since 2024 that also targeted dissidents in Lithuania and planned sabotage attacks against infrastructure in countries supporting Ukraine. All five defendants remain at large, and Moscow has denied involvement.