Three Russian citizens were charged Monday in connection with a Cold War-style Russian spy ring that spoke in code, passed messages concealed in bags and magazines, and tried to recruit people with ties to an unnamed New York City university, authorities said.
The defendants were directed by Russian authorities to gather sensitive economic intelligence on potential U.S. sanctions against Russian banks and efforts here to develop alternative energy resources, according to a complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan.
Prosecutors say one defendant, Yevgeny Buryakov, posed as an employee in the Manhattan branch of a Russian bank. He was arrested on Monday in the Bronx, where he lived with his Russian wife and two children.
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Associated Press writer Edith Lederer contributed to this report.
