The Justice Department this week unsealed an indictment accusing five people of working for Russian intelligence services in a sprawling scheme to surveil, terrorize and, in at least two cases, allegedly try to arrange the murder of Kremlin critics on American and European soil, according to the Department of Justice.

Charged are Yuri Khrameev, 63, a former Russian intelligence colonel who allegedly went by "Colonel Yuri"; his son Kirill Khrameev, 27, described as an active FSB officer; Cuban nationals Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, 35, and Yaidel Delgado Suarez, 35, the latter allegedly known as "Viking"; and 22-year-old Venezuelan national Angel Eduardo Castro. All five remain at large.

Cash offers to "disappear" a target

Prosecutors say the network paid a Brooklyn-based recruit between $1,000 and $1,500 just to surveil a prominent Russian dissident living in the Washington, D.C. area, then allegedly offered the recruit $40,000 to make the target "disappear," according to court documents cited by NBC News. A separate strand of the alleged plot ran through Lithuania, where a U.S. citizen was reportedly paid $200 to photograph a second dissident's address before being offered roughly $25,000 to carry out that person's killing.

Investigators allege the network's reach extended well beyond the two dissidents named in the U.S. case, tying the same operatives to coordinated attacks in Prague in June 2024 and in Lithuania in September 2024 as part of what officials described as a years-long campaign to intimidate and eliminate defectors and critics abroad, a pattern also detailed by Al Jazeera.

"It is our job to stop America's adversaries from unleashing violence and terror on American soil," Attorney General Todd Blanche said in announcing the charges.

All five defendants face a charge of conspiring to finance terrorism, which carries up to 20 years in prison. Yuri Khrameev, Suarez and Castro face an additional charge of conspiring to commit murder for hire, adding up to 10 more years if convicted. FBI Director James C. Barnacle Jr. said the bureau "disrupted this operation through relentless work," though officials did not detail how the alleged plots were stopped before anyone was harmed, a point also noted by CBS News.

Assistant Attorney General John A. Eisenberg called the alleged scheme "a gross violation of our sovereignty," language that underscores how seriously the department is treating an operation prosecutors say Moscow ran on U.S. soil rather than through traditional espionage channels. The Kremlin has pushed back; spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he would not comment without seeing "reasonable evidence."

With all five defendants believed to be outside the United States and unlikely to face arrest anytime soon, the case is expected to proceed largely in absentia for now, while the FBI has signaled the investigation into the broader network remains active.