The US accuses a Russian national of espionage who pretended to be Brazilian

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March 25 () –

The US Department of Justice has denounced Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov, a man of Russian nationality, of being an “illegal agent” of the Russian Intelligence Service in his country under a false identity, pretending to be a Brazilian citizen.

Cherkasov, who is currently serving a sentence in Brazil for fraud, reportedly began acting as a Russian “illegal agent” in Brazil in 2012, under the alias ‘Victor Muller Ferreira’ and a false identity, to move to the United States in 2018 to study a program graduate school at a university in the District of Columbia.

He is also accused of bank, visa, electronic fraud and other charges related to his stay in the North American country.

According to the Justice Department, Cherkasov used his university contacts to obtain information on US foreign policy, and had contacts with Russian Intelligence Service agents in 2021 and 2022.

In 2022 he tried to get a job at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, but when he was rejected he returned to Brazil, where he was finally arrested for bank fraud in connection with his use of a false identity.

US Attorney Matthew M. Graves, in charge of the case, has assured in a statement from the Department of Justice that “when foreign adversaries, such as Russia, send covert operatives to the United States, we will discover them and pursue them to the fullest extent permitted by law.”

“These adversaries seek to operate covertly to undermine our national security in ways that could harm the safety of our citizens,” he added. “In collaboration with our colleagues at the FBI, we will take down anyone who tries to harm the United States and bring them to justice.” .