Evgeny Buryakov
Evgeny Buryakov | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 2, 1975 Krasnodar Krai, Russia |
| Occupation(s) | Banker, spy |
| Known for | Convicted of espionage in the United States |
Evgeny Evgenievich Buryakov () is a Russian national convicted of espionage. He was apprehended on January 26, 2015, and admitted to spying on behalf of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) within the United States. Buryakov served as the Deputy Representative for Vnesheconombank, Russia’s state-owned national development bank, based in New York City. Operating under non-official cover, he did not possess diplomatic immunity.
His espionage activities involved collaboration with Igor Sporyshev, who was Russia’s trade representative in New York, and Victor Podobnyy, an attaché at Russia’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations. After pleading guilty, Buryakov was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and fined $100,000 as part of a plea agreement. He was released early on March 31, 2017, and deported from the U.S. six days afterward.
Early life and family
Born on March 2, 1975, in Krasnodar Krai, Buryakov previously worked at a tax office in Moscow before relocating to the United States. His father, Yevgeny Petrovich Buryakov, is employed as an engineer at the Russian Embassy in Tunis. Buryakov married Marina, whom he met in Kushchevskaya in 1994, in May 1999. The couple has two children: a son and a daughter. Following his arrest in 2015, his mother Tatiana returned from Tunis to Moscow to assist with caring for his children.
Espionage
Prior to his assignment in New York City, Buryakov operated without official cover in Pretoria between October 2004 and April 2009. Beginning around March 2012, he frequently convened with Russian intelligence officers Sporyshev and Podobnyy across Manhattan and the Bronx to exchange information related to SVR economic espionage efforts. His responsibilities included recruiting intelligence sources among New York residents and collecting data on U.S. sanctions targeting Russia as well as American renewable energy projects. Employed by Directorate ER of the SVR—specializing in economic intelligence—he also developed inquiries for Russian News Agency TASS to pose at the New York Stock Exchange concerning high-frequency trading, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and automated trading technologies.
Starting in 2013, an FBI undercover agent impersonating an energy analyst supplied binders containing industry reports embedded with concealed microphones to Sporyshev. This enabled law enforcement to monitor Russian operatives including Buryakov during meetings held at a Manhattan office and Atlantic City casinos.
In April 2017, Carter Page revealed to BuzzFeed that he was identified as "Male-1" in the January 2015 indictments against Buryakov, Podobnyy, and Sporyshev and acknowledged having met Podobnyy beginning in 2013. The three Russians were charged with conspiracy against the United States in January 2015; Buryakov faced accusations of acting as an unregistered foreign agent. Podobnyy and Sporyshev were indicted but remained free due to diplomatic immunity.
Recorded conversations from these interactions were utilized by U.S. authorities during their investigations. In October 2016, FBI and Department of Justice officials secured a 90-day warrant for electronic surveillance of Carter Page under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), citing his associations with Buryakov, Podobnyy, and Sporyshev as justification.
Conviction
The defense team representing Buryakov, whose legal expenses were covered by Vnesheconombank, argued that he should be immune from prosecution because of his official capacity within the Russian government. However, Judge Richard M. Berman dismissed this argument. Buryakov ultimately entered a guilty plea and was sentenced to 30 months in prison along with a $100,000 penalty. He served his sentence at the low-security Federal Correctional Institution located in Elkton, Ohio, was released ahead of schedule on March 31, 2017, and was subsequently deported back to Russia.