Dual national charged with acting as illegal Russian agent in U.S. -prosecutors

A dual national of the United States and Russia has been charged with acting illegally as an agent of the Russian government, federal prosecutors in New York said on Tuesday. Elena Branson, 61, faces six criminal counts over an allegation by prosecutors that she failed to register with the U.S. government as a foreign government agent.

A dual national of the United States and Russia has been charged with acting illegally as an agent of the Russian government, federal prosecutors in New York said on Tuesday.

Elena Branson, 61, faces six criminal counts over an allegation by prosecutors that she failed to register with the U.S. government as a foreign government agent. She left the United States for Russia in 2020 and remains at large, prosecutors said. The charges coincide with the United States seeking to put Russia under pressure with economic sanctions because of its invasion of Ukraine.

"Particularly given current global events, the need to detect and hinder attempts at foreign influence is of critical importance," Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan said in a statement.