Alleged Russian Spy to Face Up to 10 Years, Next Hearing Set for February 9

NEW YORK, January 27 (Sputnik) – Russian Evgeny Buryakov, arrested Monday in Bronx and charged for his alleged involvement in an intelligence-gathering scheme, could face up to 10 years in prison, a source in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York has told RIA Novosti, adding that the next court hearing is scheduled for February 9.

According to the source, Buryakov will hear the indictments on that date. Until then, he will remain in prison in New York.

The source also said that Buryakov, who has been granted a public defender, will plea innocent.

Buryakov was placed under arrest on Monday and was scheduled to appear before US Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn in Manhattan federal court on the same day.

Federal prosecutors in New York levelled criminal charges against Buryakov and two other Russians, Igor Sporyshev and Victor Podobnyy, earlier in the day. According to US attorneys and the FBI, the alleged spies' scheme to gather intelligence and recruit covert agents in the United States for Russia's foreign intelligence service ran from 2012 to the present time.

The US Department of Justice said in a statement Monday that during the period of the alleged plot, Buryakov posed as an employee of a Russian bank, Sporyshev was a Russian trade representative, and Podobnyy was an attaché to Moscow's mission to the United Nations.

Sporyshev and Podobnyy no longer reside in the United States – they had left the country before criminal charges were brought against them.

The Embassy of the Russian Federation in Washington DC informed RIA Novosti Monday that it was in the process of studying information on the alleged involvement of Buryakov, Sporyshev and Podobnyy in intelligence-gathering activities.